Dr. Richard Rhoda takes an in-depth look at Mexico and finds
that in many major categories it is among the most outstanding
countries in the world.

8
Cover by Paul Boorah

14 BOOK REVIEW
Harriet Hart reviews Die Laughing by
local author Rob Krakoff and believes
that by any measure it is a superb
novel.

24 FICTION
Scott Richards spins a tale set in a
South Seas village which has only
thirty-five houses but five different
churches and a native population that
is pious to the max. Naturally, the two
foreigners on the island don’t fit in.

32 POETRY
Mark Scone, who gave us the marvelous
poem about that local celebrity known
as “Pedro Loco” has scored again with
a poem about Ajijic itself.

50 MORE FICTION
Jim Tipton sets his story in Chapala,
where his main character meets
a lovely young female barber and
thereafter loses more than just a few
locks of his white hair.

61 GRINGO ODDITIES
Tommy Clarkson dwells on “the twisted
way we gringos speak” and wonders
what in the world the Mexicans must
think of it.

Reserva al Título de Derechos de
Autor 04-2007-111412131300-102 Control
14301. Permisos otorgados por la Secretaría de Gobernación (EXP. 1/432 “88”/5651
de 2 de junio de 1993) y SEP (Reserva
171.94 control 14301) del 15 de enero de
1994.
Distribución: Hidalgo 223 Chapala,
Jalisco, México.
All contents are fully protected by copyright
and may not be reproduced without the
written consent of El Ojo del Lago. Opinions
expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect the views of the Publisher or the
Editor, nor are we responsible for the claims
made by our advertisers. We welcome letters, which should include name, address
and telephone number.

he world recently commemorated the 100th
anniversary of Mark
Twain’s death. Unlike the reputation of other once-celebrated American writers, the passage of time has
only added luster to his place in
history—both as a writer as well as
a man.
During a period when even very
good writers like O. Henry died
broke and forgotten, Twain once had
the world at his feet, having acquired
substantial wealth, honorary degrees
from prestigious universities and the
acclaim of millions of readers—and
that of other famous writers. Hemingway once called Twain’s Huckleberry Finn the finest novel ever written by an American. Time Magazine
years later would dub him “America’s first superstar.”
He was lucky in another way,
as well. Unlike many writers who
dazzle readers but only bore friends,
acquaintances and audiences, the
handsome Twain was as scintillating
in person as he was on the page. His
wit was legendary.
On religious belief, he said that
he preferred Heaven for its weather but Hell for its company. When
people found him grumpy, he would
answer, “Well, I am only human,
though I regret it.” As for travel, he
was once asked by a ship’s steward
if he could get him anything for his
seasickness. “Yes, get me a little island.” Back on dry land, and after his
house was burglarized, Twain left a
note “To the Next Burglar” asking
among other things to “please close
the door on your way out.”
As he succumbed to middle-age,
his wit took on a sharper edge as he
grew more cynical about the human
race. But unlike Mencken and Shaw,
Twain’s deeply-engrained kindness
never let his cutting remarks go too
deep.
He had never been the same after the death of his beloved wife, his
infant son and his daughter Lucy.
Thereafter, Twain vowed that he
would never wear black again and
from that time on dressed only in
white. But personal tragedy was impervious to his mode of dress and in
short order, he broke irreparably with

6

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

one of his two remaining daughters,
with another crushing blow coming
as his favorite daughter died.
Inevitably, personal loss affected
his professional life and toward the
end he penned one of the darkest
books ever written by an American. For a man who had first made
his reputation with the wonderfully
whimsical The Notorious Jumping
Frog of Calaveras County, his Letters From the Earth signaled a turn
inward toward the nether regions of
his personality. No two writings by
the same author could have been less
alike.
But then came his crowning moment, not as a writer but as a man.
This model to millions had an
idol of his own—Ulysses S. Grant,
the hero of the Civil War and later
president of the United States. Now
in fading health, he had laboriously
completed his memoirs and was
looking for a publisher—but the best
terms he could get were the standard
90/10 profit-sharing arrangement favoring the publisher. Twain, stunned
that a national icon should be treated
in such shabby fashion, vowed to
publish Grant’s memoirs himself
(he had earlier brought a complicated new printing process), and gave
Grant ninety percent, keeping only
ten for himself.
President Grant would die before
the book was released but his widow
would receive royalties of more than
two million dollars—imagine that in
current dollars! The book was a huge
success—for everyone but Mark
Twain, who went
broke as a result of
the endeavor.
Yet I think it
was his finest moment. Would that
we should all go
broke in such glorious fashion.
Alejandro Grattan

a

A BALLOON IN CACTUS
By Maggie Van Ostrand

Bosom Buddies

I

t doesn’t matter whether
you’re a working woman
toiling amidst the trauma
and traffic of the U.S.A., or a retired woman living amidst the
smiles and sunsets of Mexico, you
need a bosom buddy.
Qualified to fill this time-honored category would be other women, one’s mother and/or mother-inlaw, one’s husband and/or someone
else’s husband, even one’s adult
children. For me, there’s no doubt
about #1 in the bosom buddy category: that would be my brassiere.
The reverse is also true: I qualify
as bosom buddy to their manufacturers which is easy; there’s only
one requisite. Gravity.
Here’s information ex-pat retirees probably never wanted to know:
The bosom comes in many sizes, A
to I, and can be shaped like knolls,
eggplants, cones, and thin old women frequently appear to be adorned
with a pair of blackjacks.
According to a new book about
the history of the brassiere, Uplift,
women have gone from boyish flatness to torpedo to plunge to watergel brassieres in a mere century and
a half. The history of the brassiere
was summed up by actress Tallulah
Bankhead, who once said of a play
she disliked: “There’s less here than
meets the eye.”
After 140 years of attempts to
design the ideal breast supporter using materials from feather-bones to
spandex, some patents are just plain
quirky, ranging from a fur-lined bra
to one with an electric heating system. That might be a very friendly
thing if you’re married to an Eskimo, though a micro fan hidden in a
bra to cool yourself might be more
beneficial if you live in Mexico.
No less than 100% of the men I
interviewed don’t give a flying fig
whether a woman was born amply
endowed like Mae West, Marilyn
Monroe and Jane Russell, or medically endowed like Dolly Parton,
Pamela Anderson and Demi Moore.
I guess the bosom’s origin is the
one exception to their rule about
how they hate it when women lie to
them.
Back in 1932, actress Maureen

O’Sullivan (future mother of Mia
Farrow) was photographed in a
perky-bosomed pose, urging Sears’
customers to “Be sure to measure”
before ordering any foundation garment. Those were the days before
brassieres were mass produced,
when women actually had personal
fittings. None of these hangingfrom-a-hook-at-Walmart bras for
them. Brassieres presented myriad
possibilities for shaping, from early
1900s mono-bosoms to the torpedoes of the late 1940s and early
1950s. Speaking of torpedoes, in
World War II, Maiden Form was
commissioned by the U.S. Government to fashion a type of support for
the army’s carrier pigeons, when radio silence was being observed immediately before D-Day. Talk about
a hooter holster! Steven Spielberg
should make a movie and call it
“Saving Private Pigeon.”
Brassiere manufacturers also
supplied the military with everything
from pup tents to parachutes. Notice
any similarities? Women have gone
from training bras to sports bras to
burning bras and today, the brassiere is often worn on the outside of
a garment. Bras no longer are considered “under” wear.
Even Elizabeth, Queen of England, wears a brassiere; not just any
old bra, of course, but one designed
by Rigby & Peller, to whom she
granted her Royal Warrant as Official Corsetieres in 1960. I wonder if
they also design her hats.
Now, we’re dealing with the syndrome of looking as though we’re
not wearing a bra at all. “Sex and the
City” has introduced the Nipple Enhancer, a “bodyperk,” which gives
people everywhere the illusion that
the wearer is constantly standing
on a drafty iceberg. We’ve come a
long way, baby. Or have we? Not to
worry, dear reader. The world may
suffer economic disarray but it will
survive as long as women continue
to have what it takes and a place to
put them.

a

Saw you in the Ojo

7

Mexico Gets No Respect!

By Dr. Richard Rhoda
rhodarick@yahoo.com

W

“W

hat images or
thoughts come
to mind when
people hear the word Mexico?”
To most gringos, Mexico is associated with illegal immigrants, drug
wars, fabulous beach resorts, tacos
& tequila, deserts & cactus, bargain
prices, third world poverty, Carlos
Slim (the world’s richest person),
swine flu, and pre-Columbian ruins. These views are essentially true,
but they do not begin to capture the
real importance or significance of
Mexico. Furthermore, they suggest
that gringos do not have much respect for Mexico, perhaps because
it is overshadowed by its very large,
very wealthy and very loud northern
neighbor.
Is Mexico important? To answer
this question, we can look at Mexico’s place in the world in terms of
demographic, economic, and geographic size as well as its diversity

8

and recent reforms.
How many Mexicans are there?
Mexico’s population is about 108
million, ranking it 11th in the world.
In the 1970’s overpopulation was a
serious concern, but an aggressive
family planning program has reduced the total fertility rate to about
2.3 children per woman, nearly equal
to that in the US. Counting Mexicanborn residents of the US, there are
about 120 million Mexicans. If we
also count Mexicans born in the US

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

the total is perhaps 140 million. The
Mexican population is expected to
peak at about 130 – 140 million in
2045. This is a big spread, because
accurately estimating immigration
to the US is difficult.
Immigration has exploded since
1970 when there were less than one
million Mexican-born residents of
the US. Now there are over 12 million. About 85% are of working age.
Most are employed in construction,
manufacturing, food processing,
cleaning and maintenance, home
care, and agriculture. A surprising
44% live in owner-occupied dwellings.
The net flow of migrants peaked
at about 550,000 in 2006. That year
over one million Mexicans entered
the US and just under 500,000 returned to Mexico. Net flow in 2009
was only about 200,000. There is
a very close negative correlation
between net immigration and US
unemployment rates. When this recession ends and jobs are again plentiful in the US, net immigration will
probably jump back up to about half
a million.
Mexico has incredible indigenous diversity. Sixty indigenous
languages are spoken every day in
Mexican communities, placing it
fourth in the world behind Papua
New Guinea, India, and Indonesia.
A total of six million people speak
these languages including a million
that cannot speak Spanish. This year
Google added two Mexican indigenous languages to its search protocol: Maya and Nahuatl, the language
of the Aztecs. Each language has
about 1.5 million speakers. In conclusion, Mexico is among the world
leaders in population and indigenous
diversity.
How big is the Mexican economy? Mexico’s GDP in 2009 was
about $1.5 trillion, ranking it 11th
in the world. This is based on Purchasing Power Parity, which compiles the total amount of goods and
services produced in an economy,
independent of exchange rates and
differences in cost of living. For example, if the same quality haircut
costs $20 in the US, $5 in Mexico
and $2 in China, the haircut is assumed to contribute $20 to the GDP
of each country.
Mexico’s economy is somewhat
smaller than that of Brazil or Italy,
but larger than that of Spain, Canada or South Korea. On a per person
basis, it is about $14,000 per year,
about a third that of the US but over
twice that of China and four times
that of India.
In the late 20th century Mexico
lurched from one financial crisis to

the next. These were characterized
by hyper-inflation and massive devaluations. To avoid big risks, many
foreign investors stayed away from
Mexico and wealthy Mexicans often kept their assets offshore. In the
1990s, President Ernesto Zedillo
took steps to stabilize the economy
by ensuring that the Central Bank
was more independent from politics,
making the peso a free floating currency, and controlling foreign debt.
These steps gave the economy much
needed stability and helped attract
foreign investment.
Zedillo also implemented impressive and surprising political reforms
that significantly reduced the power
of his office, the Presidency, and
his own political party, PRI. These
moved Mexico from what previously had been largely a one party
state, tightly controlled by the President, to an open multiparty democracy with real separation of powers.
Everyone living in Mexico today is
benefiting greatly from the reforms
of the Zedillo administration.
Mexico has many world class
multinational corporations. CEMEX
based in Monterrey is the world’s
third largest cement maker. In 2004
it received a prestigious international award from the Wharton Business
School for its advanced information technology applications. Bimbo
is the largest bread maker in the
Americas and the fifth largest food
company on the planet behind only
Nestle, Kraft, Sara Lee and Unilever. American Movil is the largest
cell phone operator in Latin America
with over 200 million subscribers.
Grupo Mexico is the world’s third
largest copper company.
Mexico has serious income distribution issues; Carlos Slim and
other billionaires get far more than
the average. The standard of living
of the top 20% of Mexicans, that’s
22 million people, is higher than the
vast majority (the middle 60%) of
those in the US or Canada. Mexico has a large and growing middle
class. However, poverty remains a
serious problem, particularly during
this deep recession. About 18% are
below the food based Mexican national poverty line. Income distribution in Mexico is even more unequal
than it is in the US.
The only major world countries
with greater inequality are South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela,
Peru and Argentina. Despite its distribution issues, Mexico is important
in world economics.
How big is Mexico? It is the
world’s 14th largest country in area,
stretching almost 2,000 miles from
east to west. Did you realize that

Tijuana is closer to Juneau, Alaska
than it is to Cancún? By the same
token, Cancún is closer to Nova Scotia than it is to Tijuana.
Size is important because it is an
indicator of a country’s natural resources. Everyone knows that Mexico has lots of oil; in 2008 it was the
world’s seventh largest oil producer.
But Mexico is running out of oil; it
currently accounts for less than 5%
of its total economy.
Mexico’s climate is arguably its
most important natural resource.
While most gringos think of Mexico
as sunny and arid, it has an incredible
diversity of climates from deserts in
the north, ideal living conditions in
the central highlands, and tropical
rainforests in the south. Interestingly, Mexico actually gets more
annual rainfall than either the US or
Canada. Climate diversity gives rise
to biological diversity.
How much biological diversity
is there in Mexico? Most Mexicans
and gringos are astonished to learn
that Mexico is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the
world. Mexico has 30,000 different
types of flowering plants, compared
to only 18,000 in the US and 12,000
in all of Europe. It has more species
of pine trees and oak trees than any
other country; however with deforestation some of these species may
be endangered. Given its deserts, it
is not surprising that Mexico ranks
first in the world in number of cactus
and reptile species. It ranks fourth in
number of amphibian species. I was
amazed to learn that it ranks second
in number of mammal species, behind only Brazil.
Some Mexican mammals are majestic, like the jaguar, but most small
and unimpressive like bats, shrews
and rodents. Over half of Mexico’s
species are endemic; they exist only
in Mexico. In terms of overall biological diversity, Mexico is perhaps
only surpassed by India, Indonesia
and Brazil. In summary, Mexico is

one of the world’s larger countries
and a clear leader in biological diversity.
Is Mexico important? As discussed above, Mexico ranks 11th in
population, 11th in economic production, and 14th in geographic size.
Where does this place Mexico on
the world stage? It is one of only six
countries that rank in the top 15 in
all three. The other five are the US,
China, India, Russia, and Brazil.
Mexico may not be as important as
these other five or as Japan, Germany, Britain, or France; however, a
strong case can be made that Mexico
is among the top ten countries in the
world. In short, it is far more important than most people realize. Mexico deserves more respect.
Note: Taken from Geo-Mexico:
the Geography and Dynamics of
Modern Mexico, Richard Rhoda
and Tony Burton, 2010, Sombrero
Books, Ladysmith, British Columbia, http://geo-mexico.com. Available in Ajijic: La Nueva Posada,
LCS Patio, Diane Pearl Collection,
Lois Cugini Opus Boutique, Bugambilias Newsstand; in Guadalajara:
Sandi’s; in Puerto Vallarta: International Friendship Club, Page in the
Sun, Gutierrez Rizo Supermarket,
Farmacia Olas Altas; also at geomexico.com and amazon.com.

a

Saw you in the Ojo

9

BRIDGE BY THE LAKE
By Ken Masson

D

efense is justifiably considered to
be the most difficult part of bridge. Whereas
declarers have the benefit of
seeing all their sideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assets as
they attempt to make their contracts, defenders must struggle
with only certain knowledge of
half their combined holdings. It
would definitely make life easier
if each defender could tell the other
what cards they held but unfortunately that is against the rules!
However, there is a perfectly
legal way to talk to your partner
when the two of you are defending
a hand. It involves using the cards
that you have to convey a message
by playing a high card or a low card
in specific situations. Generally
speaking, when a defender is unable to follow suit and must discard
in another suit, the play of a high
card will suggest an interest in that
suit while a low card carries the opposite meaning. Nevertheless, it is
important that the defenders learn
to use this tool judiciously.
In this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s deal, South
opened the bidding with 1 Heart
and North responded 1 NT, which
in their system was forcing for one
round. South rebid 2 Hearts to
show a six card suit, North invited
game with a bid of 3 Hearts and
South accepted. West led the Spade
10 which declarer won on the board
with the Ace. Declarer now cashed
the Ace and King of hearts to discover that there was a sure trump
loser. As there was also a loser in
the Spade suit, it was important that
declarer should restrict losers in
Diamonds to one.
But there was an interesting development when the second high
Heart was playedâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;East discarded

10

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

the Diamond 4 showing a dislike
for that suit. As East had shown
only one Heart card, the odds were
that East would hold more Diamonds than West and therefore be
more likely to hold the outstanding honour cards, the Ace and the
Jack. Left to his own devices, declarer would likely have started on
the Diamond suit by leading a low
card from the dummy to his 9. This
would have lost to the Jack and later West would have won the Ace to
set the contract one trick.
But the astute declarer took advantage of the information at his
disposal by leading a low Diamond
from the South hand towards the
dummy. When West followed low,
declarer successfully finessed the
10 and all he lost was one trick
to the Ace in that suit to make his
game.
The lesson from this hand was
that East should not have been too
eager to let his partner know that he
was bereft in Diamond values, as
the declarer was also in on the message and was able to take advantage of it. It would have been far
safer for East to have discarded a
small spade on the second round of
trumps and let declarer try to figure
out how to play the Diamond suit
for himself.
Questions or comments: email:
masson.ken@gmail.com

a

A
LL A
B OU
UT
T THE
TH
HE
E ENVIRONMENT
ENVIIR
RONMENT
ALL
ABOUT
By Dr. Todd Stong

Worldwide Domestic Water

A

cross the world, half
of the available “fresh
water” is being consumed, that’s 1% of the world’s
total water not in the ocean or
in ice masses. The challenge at
this time is that major populations
are no longer developing where
the fresh water exists naturally. In
ages past times people only settled
near to fresh water. That is yet the
case most often in the Developing
World. There you only find people
in waterless areas in general when
some other group has pushed them
into a desert or on to a rock region
in hopes these people will expire
(genocide). The unused 50% of the
world’s fresh water exists in lands
like Canada, Indonesia, Brazil,
Peru, Iceland, Zaire-Congo and
Suriname.
Today’s challenge for many is
water transport, pipelines, towed
ice bergs, ocean going water tankers, etc. Note that the world does
not hesitate to transport oil, electric and gas 1000s of miles to anywhere people will pay the delivery
charge. For example in the US
electric costs about $0.05/kwh to
produce but by the time it is transported to the home the cost is about
$0.12/kwh. Thus the production
cost is only 42% of the delivered
cost.
The First World will soon see
more pipeline transport of water to
augment existing local supplies.
For major cities within 20 miles of
the ocean that have water needs the
move will be to desalinated water
from the ocean. That became economical about 5 yrs ago as seen in
FL and CA. The key was recovery
of the significant level of energy
demanded by the high pressure
(600-800 phi) reverse osmosis
process. Once engineers elected to
have the out flush water turn a turbine the recovered energy lowered
the price to where it could compete
with water pumped from 20 miles
inland to a coastal city,
In general we can purify lake
and river water to drinking quality
for a cost of 1/5th of a penny per
gallon. If we need to pump puri-

Dr. Todd Stong

fied fresh water 1000 miles the
cost may go up to perhaps 1/3rd
to 1/2th of a penny per gallon.
Desalinated sea water may at this
time cost about 1/3rd of a penny per
gallon. In the Developing World
for very small populations one
can purify and pipe local drinking
water for about 1/2th of a penny
per gallon. If such water is sold
for one gallon for a penny there
is then enough profit for a family
in the community to operate such
a village system. Long experience
suggests that “Profit” is the ONLY
way to sustain water supply in the
Developing World.
In Mexico the government for
more than 50 years has subsidized
about 60-70% of the real cost for
the water. The same was true of
electric 10 years ago but now the
full cost of electric is paid by the
consumers and it is about 60%
higher than in the USA. The cost
of water in Mexico could increase
by a factor of 3-5 if the real cost
was to be paid by the consumers.
Many in the US/CA annually pay
about $300-400 for water, $700900 for sewer and $250-300 for
trash, a total of $1250-1600. In
Mexico these services come as a
package for about $130/year.

f you’ve been reading this
column, you will recall that
I have been examining various frameworks of ethical thinking by looking at how we might
respond to hypothetical ethical
dilemmas. Dilemmas are good for
discussing ethics because they give
us very limited examples to discuss.
The problem with ethical dilemmas
is that they are not always of the real
world. In practice, our application
of ethics is a good deal messier.
The most prominent enemy of
ethics is always self-interest. We are
always tempted to behave in ways
which may be good for us, even if
our actions might be considered unethical. People cheat on their taxes,
conduct illicit affairs, lie to their
friends, cheat on exams, and go
along with policies they may consider unethical to preserve their jobs.
When I presented an ethical dilemma in my class one day, I asked what
the correct decision should be. An
honest student raised his hand,” Mr.
Frayer, do you want to know what
is the ethical choice, or do you want
to know what we would really do?”
I thought they ought to be the same,
but he was honest enough to point
out the obvious.
Is it an unrealistic ideal to expect people to consider their choices
from an ethical perspective, even if
it conflicts with their self-interest?
We can make a case that self-interest often trumps ethics, yet having a
code of ethics is considered important in many professions. Medicine,
law, education, psychotherapy, and
business all have published codes of

Bill Frayer

ethics.
Some believe that the primary
institutions which promote ethics
are our churches. After all, the Ten
Commandments were one of the
earliest codes of conduct. For centuries, people have looked to religion as a basis for moral conduct.
I’m not sure this has ever been true,
but it certainly does not seem so today. The Catholic Church has been
protecting pedophiles for decades.
Some evangelical Protestant pastors
preach intolerance and hate towards
gay and lesbian people. Radical
Muslims condone the killing of innocents in the name of Allah. This
list goes on. Yet, religious organizations also feed the hungry, build
houses for the poor, give shelter to
the homeless, and fund welfare organizations, all in the pursuit of a
more ethical world.
Many people see the problems
we face today as a basic deterioration of common ethical standards.
This has been attributed to the rise
of modernity itself with its heavy reliance on technology, the emergence
of wealth as a strong moral value, the
increased ethnic diversity in all areas
of civilization, and the increasing
gap between the rich and the poor. It
often seems as if self-interest is our
primary motivation.
Yet, most of us value ethics on a
personal level. We try to behave following an ethical framework. Colleges, universities, and professional
schools teach courses in ethics. As
a society, we value ethical thinking.
Many are critical of “ethical relativism” or “situational ethics” which,
many think, undermine a strong ethical framework.
So where does this leave us? We
can’t always agree on which ethical
principles are the most important. Is
individual autonomy more important than compassion? Is following
the law more important than following higher humanitarian principles?
It’s important, for us and for future
generations, to continue the conversation. If we don’t insist on ethical
behavior, then we are devaluing ourselves as a civilization.

a

12

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Joyful Musings
By Joy Birnbach Dunstan, MA, LPC, MAC

Shopping and the Pursuit of Happiness

I

am writing this month’s column during my annual family visit in Oregon. During the
weeks I’ve been here, I’ve repeatedly
felt overwhelmed by the quantities
of “stuff” I see everywhere. Warehouse stores, malls, aisle after aisle of
floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked with
anything you can imagine, and many
things I never could. Thrift stores are
filled to overflowing with donated
castoffs. The Sunday paper is a twoinch stack of a store flyers wrapped
in a few pages of news and the daily
mail brings dozens more.
To some, I’m sure this is a shopper’s dream—finding not only the
item you were looking for, but a dazzling array of brands, colors, styles,
and features. For me, it can be a bit
too much. I’ve even left the store a
couple of times without purchasing
anything because the abundance of
options for a seemingly simple item
was so great I couldn’t decide which
to get.
Shopping in our Lakeside stores
and markets, I’ve grown accustomed
to small inventories. When I need
dish soap at SuperLake, I buy one of
the two or three kinds they have for
sale. In the supermegamarket here in
Oregon, I was faced with an eightfoot wide, four-shelf high array of
various concoctions promising to
give me sparkling dishes and softer
hands. I’m just not sure I need that
many choices.
The new iPhone was introduced
yesterday. One and a half million of
these things were sold in just the first
day. People camped out in the street
all night to be assured of getting one
before they sold out.
The media has done a superb job
of creating perceived needs and turning people into perpetual consumers.
The bumper on a sporty little car in
front of me the other day proclaimed,
“He who dies with the most toys
wins.” Television commercials and
print advertising generate a sense of
need and inadequacy if we don’t get
the latest greatest new gadget or product. Happiness appears to be only a
purchase away.
But having all this stuff doesn’t
seem to be making people up here
very happy. They’re all in a hurry,
faces looked stressed, and I hear frequent complaints about the pressure
of juggling their ever-mounting bills.
A study by the National Sleep

Foundation reports that nearly 40%
of employed Americans put in more
than 50 hours each week. These hard
workers average only about six hours
of sleep a night.
Long hours and inadequate sleep
combined with the pressures of a
struggling economy can leave people
feeling empty inside. Trying to fill
this emptiness with stuff just doesn’t
work. No matter how much stuff one
gets, because of adaptation, a new
treasure soon loses its thrill, and we
need to get something more to re-ignite that elusive feeling of happiness.
The Dalai Lama says, “I believe
that the very purpose of life is to be
happy. In my own limited experience
I have found that the more we care for
the happiness of others, the greater
our own sense of well-being. It helps
remove whatever fears or insecurities
we may have and gives us strength to
cope with any obstacles we encounter…Since we are not solely material
creatures, it is a mistake to place all
our hopes for happiness on external
development alone. The key is to develop inner peace.”
It has been said that one’s riches
consist not in the extent of your possessions, but in how few your wants
are. Practice increasing your wealth
by treasuring your relationships, not
your possessions. Remember that the
Dalai Lama also wisely advises that
“not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.”
Editor’s Note: Joy is a practicing
psychotherapist in Riberas. She can
be contacted at joy@dunstan.org or
765-4988.

a

Saw you in the Ojo 13

GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER
A Book Review of Robert Krakoff’s Die Laughing
By Harriet Hart
200 Pesos at Diane Pearl Colleciones

B

y day Ajijic resident
Rob Krakoff is an entrepreneur, but by night he
indulges his secret passion – writing fiction. Die Laughing, his debut
novel, poses the burning question:
“Can a lonesome loser achieve his
career goal of becoming a stand-up
comic, plus get the girl of his dreams,
survive a brush with gangsters in Las
Vegas and get away with murder?”
Krakoff takes protagonist Alex Zachery from North Hollywood High to
two-bit comedy clubs in L.A. then on
to Vegas where he runs money for the
mob.
Fleeing crime scenes and shady
employers, we follow Alex to small
town Mississippi and beyond; the
plot is far-fetched but totally enjoyable as Alex changes his identity, his
direction and his occupation. Our
hero is a fugitive from justice and
quite possibly a sociopath, yet the
author succeeds in making him likeable. I kept rooting for this guy in
spite of myself.
Character depiction is one of Krakoff’s strengths. He creates a motley
crew beginning with Johnny Shotlan
(Shitland to Alex), the school bully
who later re-appears as a police detective on Alex’s trail; Sarah, a waitress at Denny’s, Alex’s muse and first
true love; agent Bernie Padgent Jr.;
Vegas boss Big Eddie Julian; savior and small town pharmacist Doc
Benton, and many more. Here’s our
introduction to Eddie: “Now, I have
reasonably large mitts, but his paw
swallowed my hand. This wasn’t a
hand – it was a suitcase.” And to Sarah: “This was in 1963 and Sarah was
the first woman I ever saw bearing a
tattoo. It was a black rose, just below

her right shoulder. Her uniform covered all but the bottom of the tattoo
and until we got to know each other
better months later, I thought she had
some deformity or birthmark.”
Krakoff pays close attention to
setting. He depicts Vegas in 1975:
“It amazed me that for a town that
was no more than twenty years old,
everything outside the strip looked to
be pre-World War II. It was all built
on slab; it was all pre-fab, cheap plywood and particleboard….” He conjures up equally well the underbelly
of Vegas, an office tower in Manhattan, a small town pharmacy in Mississippi and even the city of Minneapolis.
What I like best about Die Laughing is the style. Krakoff writes in
the first person and his protagonist’s
voice is 100% believable. “How did
a nice guy like me wind up killing
another human being in their own
home? Why would I allow myself
such a string of misguided judgements? My life up to that night had
been a constant string of bad jokes
and this was the punch line from
hell….” The tone is conversational
and confessional throughout.
Finally, the author sets a swift
pace – while we’re never quite sure
where Alex will find himself next–
but we’re happy to go along for the
carnival ride that is his life. This is
one helluva first novel. Just don’t buy
this book looking for a social message
because there isn’t one. It’s written in
the spirit of fun which is perfect for
the life of a stand-up comic and you’ll
be reading from start to finish with a
big smile on your face. Serial killers
can actually be fun...and maybe even
get away with murder.

a

14

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

A PENNY CHANGED THE WORLD
By C Jordan English

G

et a buzz-cut, and move
to Dodge! I experienced an earth shattering epiphany during the wee hours
of Sunday after a restless night. I
keep my TV clicker by the bed so
I can flick the tube on if I prefer
alien-world input. For once, I can
give some credit to CNN. They ran
a news capsule about the turnaround
of Dodge City, Kansas. Why CNN
picks a time-slot for this story hours
before the sun shows is curious, but
the luck of English was with me
since I was able to digest this message before sunrise. How can a penny change the world? And, who in
their right mind would ever want to
move to Dodge?
Without really thinking it through,
I was already contemplating the necessities of a big move. I sensed a
buzz-cut might pave the way, plus
the kick of some nice black Texas
boots, an elegant “W” cowboy hat,
along with marshalling my internal
talents to help me pose as a successful “beef speculator.” Heck, I could
do that. Why not encourage border
promotions going both ways? I’ve
seen plenty of speculative bull during my heady days. I would love to
ride into Dodge on something like
the iconic Wall Street Bull, but I
might have to settle for my brother’s
second-hand Mustang. But Dodge,
is that a sane choice? Why Dodge?
You probably missed the comeback story because, if you are a normal human, you should have been
sleeping. What nerve! Those folks
up in Dodge mandated a penny tax
across the board, and the effects
transformed the entire town. Now,
they say, it’s tough to find enough
people to fill all the jobs in Dodge
because that penny tax funded a
casino, a sports center, and other

shock wave from this event could be
contagious, and lead to the demise of
dysfunctional America.
Oh well, I can always rollover,
and speculate about the potential
Armageddon event rearing its fiery
mane up on the slopes of Iceland.
I feel somewhat entertained by the
minister who claims the volcano in
Iceland is pumping with rage because, “The world has had far too
much sex.” I sure hope he isn’t the
lone voice of gloom in Dodge. That
might imply dicey karma on my
part. How about just a penny toward
redemption?

a

vital concerns of community interest. From a sinkhole of economic
despair, the whole town kicked into
overdrive because of that one-penny
tax.
Of course, we might be able to
locate one person who will disagree.
CNN interviewed a happy herd of
local politicians, all distinguished
leaders who were smiling in unison
as they shared stories about willful cooperation. Maybe it takes the
stark face of prairie living to instill
a mature sense of cooperation. They
behaved like a group of cozy Holy
Rollers strung out on the love-drug,
ecstasy, and it came across as genuine. Those smart frontier people up in
Dodge figured out how to take stress
out of living, and turn an economic
struggle into a flourishing enterprise.
I imagine some wise guy will crack
that the casino caused a spike in
pick-pockets, but I trust these downto-earth Dodge folks can manage
their pockets.
It wasn’t long before I was throwing pillows at the TV, and exhorting
the media to run more stories like
this, with the hope of waking-up other small-town folks across America.
I felt fortunate to get the news since
I was close to functionally asleep in
Mexico. Cultivating an independent
middle-American lifestyle like these
Kansans did, has potential. The

Saw you in the Ojo 15

THIS WORLD of OURS
By Bob Harwood
bharwoodb@hotmail.com

G8 And G20—Summits In Transition

G

8 vs G20: The G8 and
G20 bring world leaders
together on issues calling for their coordinated action. In
more intimate settings new leaders
get to know their peers and established relationships are renewed.
But what was actually accomplished at this June’s Summits? G8
leaders committed to a substantial
fund, augmented by a generous donation from the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, to address Third
World family and maternal health.
The G8 in Huntsville’s quiet cottage country experienced minimal
disruption from well behaved protestors espousing their causes.
The wisdom of staging the G20
in the heart of Toronto is now being
questioned. Security costs exceeding one billion dollars failed to prevent violence and rampant property
damage led by hooded anarchists
deliberately mingling with peaceful protestors. Riot police made
1000 arrests. The many held in jail
overnight inevitably included non
violent protestors caught up in the
confusion. Continuing media debate risks obscuring the real work
of the Summit.
The Global Economy: Leaders brought different priorities to
the G20, now the premium forum
for economic cooperation. Canada
had added credibility as the country least impacted by the recession
because of its stronger financial
system. European powers mired
in debt are making drastic cuts in
social programs and budgets and
championed a universal bank tax
to hedge against future public bail
outs.
America with a still fragile economy leaves the door open to further
stimulus before committing to major deficit reduction but is moving
forward with major reforms of its
financial sector. Canada predictably
opposed a universal bank tax. The
G20 did reach general agreement on
a goal to halve deficits by 2013 and
stop increasing total debt as a percentage of GDP by 2016. But each
country will determine how best
to do so in its own circumstances.
Enhancing financial regulation was

16

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

also left for to individual approaches but in due course some international standard will be essential in
our now interdependent world.
To break the logjam on the Doha
Round of international trade negotiations there was agreement on
placing more items on the agenda
of the November follow up meeting
to facilitate compromises and eliminate restrictions to free trade.
Climate Change: Host Canada
had been reluctant to debate this
topic in June after being stigmatized
at the recent Copenhagen Climate
Conference for its tar sands image
and for per capita emissions among
the highest in the world. And BP tar
balls accumulating on Gulf of Mexico beaches have only added to the
heat. But, pressed by the UN Secretary General and President Calderon of Mexico who will be hosting a Climate Change Conference
in November, there was a renewed
pledge for G20 countries to phase
out “inefficient fossil fuel subsidies
in the medium term.” Tax breaks
to oil and coal companies and fuel
subsidies for consumers must also
be eliminated by 2020.
Grading the Summits: I will
reserve judgment until we see if the
second session of the G20 in Korea in November turns these generalities into measurable, time tabled
commitments. This may be facilitated if present economic jitters
settle down by that time. But some
progress has been made. And the
more broadly representative G20 is
clearly and correctly replacing the
exclusive Club of Eight. New voices are being heard and a new dynamic is emerging
as China’s influence
gains parity with
that of America.
Living as we do in
an interdependent
world we must act
Bob Harwood
accordingly.

a

THUNDER ON THE RIGHT
By Paul Jackson

O

K, OK, I now admit
it - President Barack
Obama has had one
hugely positive influence on my
life. The annointed one - as Fox
News’ Sean Hannity calls Obama
- has made me into a devotee of
Glenn Beck.
Now, I used to glance at Beck
on occasion but concluded he was
a bit of a comedian. Entertaining,
but not to be taken seriously. Also
used to have a pretty objective wait
and see attitude towards Obama,
but the Bill Ayers charade, the Jeremiah Wright fiasco, the Van Jones
scandal, the unabashed lurch to the
Radical Left, the fawning overtures
towards America’s enemies, and the
slurring of America’s friends, have
made me finally take sides.
So, these days because of
Obama and his coterie I take Beck
very, very seriously.Yup, Glenn is
still a bit theatrical, but America
itself is a theatrical nation. Anyway, increasingly I see the common
sense Beck exhibits day-by-day.
As an aside, am now convinced the
Democrats and the American people
should have elected Hillary Clinton rather than Obama. Everything
Clinton seems to do is right, every
word she utters is thoughtful. Am
now even feeling a touch of warmth
for Joe Biden.
It was by chance one day that I
tuned to Beck’s show which featured
a one-hour documentary on the similarities between Soviet Communism
and German Nazism and how both
were based on a mix and mesh of socialism and nationalism gone mad.
It was an authoritative documentary,
and since my library is lined with
scholarly works on this very sub-

Paul Jackson

ject it drew my attention. With that,
I started to look at Beck more frequently and for longer periods. His
research is impeccable - he clearly
demonstrates what is going wrong
with the Obama administration and
what has gone wrong with previous
Democratic administrations.
So much so that Beck has destroyed my long-term admiration for
President Woodrow Wilson, a fellow
I now view as an out and out elitist
who figured he knew what was better for the average guy and gal than
they knew themselves. Beck also
sees the average American as being
manipulated by an arrogant establishment that looks down on them
with contempt as ‘little people’ not
really knowing themselves what is
best for them.
The noble William F. Buckley
had the same thoughts when he said
he would rather entrust the government of the USA to the first 400
names listed in the Boston telephone
directory than the faculty of Harvard University. Having met many
a pontificating university professor with hardly the guile to tie their own
shoes - I have to agree.
Beck hits the nail on the head
so often: The connection between
the Obama administration and Big
Business, coupled with the cooperation between the administration and
Big Labor. Careless use of the taxpayers’ money. Catering to vested
interests.
Beck frequently pulls together

that growing elitism of the so-called
Liberal-Left from the days of Wilson and how the nation has strayed
from the original concepts of the
Founding Fathers. Indeed, Obama
himself has publicly suggested the
Framers of the Constitution got it all
wrong - didn’t know what they were
doing. What arrogance.
So Beck paints an unsettling
scenario of what is happening in
the USA today but sometimes what
is unsettling is essential to know.
So I’ve gone from amusement
over Beck to admiration for Beck.
Perhaps you will too.

a

Saw you in the Ojo 17

Wondrous
Wildlife
By Vern and Lori Gieger

wildlifemexico@wildtravellers.org
765-4916

Fine Swine

K

nown
by
various
names, peccaries, wild
boars, and javelinas, or
Chuleta (Pork chop) as ours is affectionately known, they look similar to pigs, but there are major differences. In Mexico they are known
as javelinas (Spanish for javelin or
spear) because of their sharp tusks.
Javelinas are social animals usually traveling in bands from 6 to 12.
They are most active during early
morning and evening hours when it
is cooler. They eat, sleep, and forage
together. Like most group animals
they have a dominance hierarchy,
wherein a male is dominant; the
remainder of the order is largely
determined by size. They are quite
vocal; communication within the

18

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

group consists of various grunts and
squeals signifying, aggression, submission, or alert.
Javelinas have large heads and
long snouts with thick coarse coats
of dark gray to blackish brown mix,
and band of lighter hair around the
neck. A long, stiff mane runs down
the back from head to rump. The
adult male is up to 60 inches in length
and is 20 to 24 inches in height, and

weighing 40 to 60 pounds. Females
are slightly smaller. Although they
are not a small animal you would
definitely smell them before you
see them. They have a very powerful musk gland. The odor is always
apparent, more so when they are excited.
They are territorial, defining their
area by the rubbing of the rump oil
gland against rocks, tree trunks etc.,
and people as Chuleta has demonstrated on more than one occasion.
Javelinas fend off intruders by squaring off, laying back their ears, and
clattering their tusks. When fighting,
they charge head on, bite, and occasionally lock jaws. Territory size
varies greatly depending upon herd
size, and habitat.
Javelinas are found in various
habitats, from tropical rainforests to
semi arid regions. They do tend to
stay near a constant water supply.
They are primarily herbivores, and
have complex stomachs for digesting coarsely chewed food, which includes roots, fruits, insects, worms,
reptiles, beans, nuts, berries, agaves
cacti, and prickly pears, and in Chuletaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s case figs and carrots.
Breeding occurs throughout the
year, depending on climate. When
food supplies are abundant more

young are raised. Females usually
give birth to two young. Mothers
den in hollow logs or hollows in the
ground, retreating from the herd to
prevent the newborns from being
killed by other group members, rejoining the herd one day after giving birth. Only the older sisters of
the newborn are tolerated near the
young, often becoming nursemaids
for the new mother. Despite the high
mortality rate in this species, members have a life span of up to 24
years in captivity.
Predators include humans, bobcats, pumas, jaguars, and coyotes.
For centuries, they have been a
source of economic income due to
their skins, food supply and as hunting trophies. The young are often
captured and serve as domestic farm
animals.
When fed by humans they lose
fear of man. They have been known
to rummage around campsites like
raccoons and become a nuisance;
they are not dangerous when left
alone; under most circumstances
they will run from humans.
Speedy and agile, social and vocal, cute and cuddly, Chuleta loves
to nap on Vernâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lap. Javelinas are
actually quite appealing, once you
get past the smell.

wonderful
musician
came into my life some
15 years ago. His name
was Dennis Jernigan. I went to a
number of his concerts in Edmond,
Oklahoma and I also purchased
his songbooks. Thru them, Dennis
spoke to my soul. That’s why, at this
time in my struggle against cancer,
I turned once again to Dennis and
to his music. I hope you will agree,
even without hearing the melody,
the strength and message of truth in
his music.
One of my favorites and one
we sing a lot on Emmaus Walks
is “You Are My All in All.” The
words leaped out to me today as
I write this column. “You are my
strength when I am weak, You are
the treasure that I seek; You are my
all in all. Seeking you as a precious
jewel, Lord to give up, I’d be a fool;
You are my all in all. When I fall
down You pick me up, when I am
dry you fill my cup; You are my All
in All.”
That has been my prayer each day
as I look toward Him for strength.
Even in the days when my cup is
dry, I know it will be filled. As some
of you have experienced and others
watched the process, chemo and radiation not only strive to destroy the
cancer cells; they also destroy some
of the good cells along the way. I
now have experienced the first segment of a roller coaster ride that is
designed to bring me to my knees
and back again.
I’m reminded of a book written by James W. Moore, another

20

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

great author favorite of mine. The
book’s title is You can get better or
bitter. Maybe you’ve read some of
his works: I loved the book entitled
“God Was Here and I Was Out To
Lunch and another one of my favorites is Yes Lord I have Sinned, But I
Have Several Excellent Excuses.
The message the author wanted
to impart was this: “In the midst
of loss – no matter what the loss is
that has brought you to your knees,
you do have a choice. Even when
it seems like everything you had
nailed down has come loose. Even
in the midst of grief over the loss
of a loved one. Even when family turns against family, even when
economic losses have knocked our
world upside down…we still have
a choice.”
The book publisher wrote on the
back cover these poignant words:
“All of us, at one time or another,
face sorrow, grief or loss – these
challenges spare no one. The question is: How will we respond to
these challenges.”
While I cannot say I’m doing
“great,” I can tell you that you have
lifted me up in your prayers and that
I can feel each one and thank God
for you and for your families. I also
want you to know that I have met
some of the most wonderful people
– those who care for cancer patients
– their dedication and their strength
of character would make anyone
stand and shout “God is Good, All
the Time.”
Shalom!

a

Saw you in the Ojo 21

ANITA’S ANIMALS
By Jean Sutherland

Pet Stabbings

B

e sure to see the latest
in doggie products at
the end of the article.
Imagine if your doctor told you
that every year of your life you
had to get all your vaccine shots
redone. That’s what has been happening to our pets since day one
of their life. Now vets worldwide
are changing their opinion on this
practice.
In fact, some vets now believe
that pets can go for 7 to 10 years
before needing to get booster shots.
Many vets believe that Parvo virus
shots give the animal lifelong immunity and distemper shots can
last 5 to 7 years. Add to this the
fact that most pets are indoor pets,
only go out occasionally, are rarely exposed to other animals and
the need for any shots at all can be
very low. For some pets these annual vaccines can be harmful.
Some pets can end up with
chronic diseases from exposure
to these vaccines. Many pets have
reactions from the vaccines that
show up months or years later.
Immune system diseases, joint
problems and ear infections can
in many cases be traced back to
vaccines. Many dogs end up with
chronic skin problems from the
assault on their immune systems.
The American Veterinary Medical Association says, “There is no
scientific data to support a recommendation for annual administration of vaccines. Furthermore, re-

peated administration of vaccines
may be associated with a higher
risk of anaphylaxis and autoimmune diseases”.
Make sure your pet leads a
healthy life. Good nutritional food
and treats as well as exercise can
go a long way to help keep their
immune system healthy. Flea and
tick medicine is also another questionable treatment. Many pet owners no longer use the over the counter flea and tick medicines. With
weekly combing and watching
for fleas, many can now go years
without having to use these medications. Mixing a small amount
of yeast and garlic into your pet’s
food will go a long way to discouraging fleas. Best of all it’s a natural treatment. Disclaimer: This is
not to be used with cats.
Having our yards sprayed every few months adds another layer
of protection from fleas and mosquitoes. Unfortunately this is not
always 100% effective. If you
mix in a blender garlic juice with
5 parts of water and then strain,
you’ll have an effective treatment
that you can spray on your dog.
This will protect the dog for 5 to
6 hours. During tick season make
sure to rub your hands down your
dog’s body daily to ensure they
have not picked one up.
It’s important to do your own
research on vaccines before proceeding. There are many informative websites online that will give
you more information and allow
you to make an informed decision.
It may be wise for you to print out
any information that is pertinent
and take it with you for your pet’s
next checkup. If a vet is trying to
push these shots you’ll have the
information for backup.
This month’s fun product for
pets is the “Doggie Fountain”. It
provides pets with anytime access
to clean and fresh water. http://
www.doggiefountain.com/

a

22

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Saw you in the Ojo 23

TROPICAL GUILT
By Scott Richards

I

t was a moonless night with
only the stars to guide us.
The uneven path was fraught
with peril at every turn. Mangy dogs
half wild from hunger and dangerously insane from the three hundred
years of inbreeding prowled the
underbrush growling and snapping
at the wind. Thankfully we only
dared such a risky undertaking into
the village once a week, our nerves
couldn’t take more.
Anxiety dripped off our brows
like a monsoon rain and our hearts
beat faster as we neared the clearing.
All was dead quiet now save the cicadas and the pounding of the blood
in our ears. A few more paces and
our objective was in sight, silhouetted against the blue-black sky, dark,
huge and silent. But with no cover,
we had to approach with the silence
of a cat stalking its prey. Under no
circumstances could we be caught.

24

The social and religious implications
would be drastic for our continued
presence in the community.
From the relative safety of the
palms, we waited for the clouds to
cloak the brilliant stars that illuminated our tiny South Pacific Island.
Everyone in the village of Toula
knew everyone else’s business so
discretion was paramount. In our
typical Tongan village consisting
of about thirty-five homes and five
churches of different denominations, the inhabitants, were, needless
to say, pious to the max. Save for a
handful of other lost ex-pats blown
off-course, my wife’s long blond
hair and our European features invited sufficient scrutiny as it was.

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Identification would be simple. We
had to strike fast, in and out, guerilla
style.
In the darkness of our momentary cloud cover, we made our move.
The heavy plastic lid creaked louder
than anticipated on its jungle-rotted
hinges causing us to hesitate, freeze
up in fear of discovery. Too late, the
trashcan lid was off, no time to rethink the mission, dump the empty
bottles of Fosters beer, dark rum and
wine and sneak back through the under brush to the safety of our home
on the hill.
Giggling like kids that had gotten
away with something naughty, we finally slowed our pace and heart rate
as we gained distance and innocence
from the crime scene.
The truth was we didn’t have
a “wheelie bin” of our own, as our
house was too high up the face of
the jungle-covered hill. The one,
local trash truck could not make it
up the dirt path that wound a quarter mile through the bush to service
us forcing us to become covert trash
depositors. We always burned what
paper products accumulated in true
island fashion in a rusted, cut down
oil drum. But due to our unflagging,
California-style devotion to recycling, we were forced to properly

deal with our empties. At first, we
began dumping our breakable waste
down the hill in the closest can, but
then figured the village elders might
suspect our immediate neighbors
of alcoholism as the clanking and
crashing of bottles embarrassingly
came tumbling out on collection day.
This fear of injustice caused us to
devise a new nocturnal strategy for
dispersion of our heathen refuse. We
would share with the whole village
dropping a few empties in all the
cans, thereby diluting the evidence
of our sinful ways in this extremely
religious community.
Our sanctimonious diversion had
all the ear-marks of genius till one
Sunday morning after the daily five
am beating of the log drum to waken
the village, all hell broke loose down
in the churches. Our home, over a
thousand yards away, was filled with
fire and brimstone from the palm
frond pulpits. Could this be about
us?
The nine Wesleyans in their
church were attempting to out preach
the eleven Mormons in their place
of worship, who were vying for top
volume with the handful of Catholics. Not understanding Tongan,
or for that matter, the divine message in any language, we feared the

Trinity alarm had gone off and each
minister was ferociously barking reminders of his flockâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s covenants as
he chastised the wicked. Our worst
fears had materialized. The evidence
of our debauchery was no longer
guiltless. Innocent devotees were
now under the lash.
It was then that it dawned on us
that the unusual abundance of glass
products, so uncharacteristic of the
natural village waste, might cause
a town meeting to address the almost over night, widespread drinking problem this poor, fanatically
religious community was obviously

under going.
Even at just a couple of bucks,
beer was still a luxury that most
could not afford, nor desired, as Jesus was their rock and salvation. My
wife and I, on the other hand, found
little comfort in prayer preferring
island rum for our sacrament and in
amounts that we found refreshing.
So to stem any possible recriminations to innocent parties, we planned
on extending our nightly deposits
to include several distant, but walk
able villages to minimize any real
local damage our western, Godless
appetites might incur.

ankind has searched
for hundreds of years
to find cures for diseases. Herbs, animal parts, rituals,
manual therapies and faith are all
remedies. Fortunately, the focus on
New Medicine concepts and Alternative Medicine is opening new
doors to join healers and physicians
around the world. A sharing of information is occurring like never before
in history. Mainstream traditional
medicine practiced in the U.S. is becoming passĂŠ.
Modern traditional medicine (allopathic medicine) has relied too
much on treating diseases after the
fact instead of preventing them. If
the diagnostic test result does not
show something abnormal, many
doctors go no further to figure out
what is wrong.
Medications are used to treat
symptoms, but do not always address
the cause. Traditional Chinese medicine always takes into consideration
the individual patient and designs a
special formula to deal with the patient needs; whereas, the majority
of Americans are prescribed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;cook
book styleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; medications. Unfortunately, the side effects of the medications can result in requiring more
medications or even lead to more serious health problems.
Taking medications on top of
medications is not the answer. In
fact, certain medications should
never be taken with certain other

26

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

medications. A qualified physician
will always examine all of your current medications before prescribing
something new.
Medicine of the Future will be
more of a partnership between the
doctor and the patient. The patient
will have choices. The biochemistry
of the patient will be of primary importance in finding the root cause of
the problem. It will focus on repairing tissues and organs with specific
nutrients that the body needs instead
of using drugs or (often times) surgery.
Laser Therapies such as Low
Level Laser can be used to stimulate
the tissues to regenerate themselves,
stimulate circulation and control
pain due to trauma or chronic disease such as arthritis.
The health practitioner of the future will put special effort on education. The patient must learn to eat
healthier and know the principles of
good nutrition, as well as the importance of proper pH balance. This will
all help to prevent illness and delay
the aging process.
The Medicine of the Future needs
to consider all new technology being
used from around the world and provide therapies that are supported by
proper research and evidence of suc-

cess. Certain Intravenous Therapies
such as Chelation are tools used to
clean veins and arteries instead of
other invasive procedures.
The Medicine of the Future will
not discriminate against therapies
just because they are not â&#x20AC;&#x153;FDA approved.â&#x20AC;? The Medicine of the Future
will consider the best and most honest option for the Patient, and use
whatever is most applicable to regain and maintain physical and mental health.
The doctor of the future will have
the option of using many functional
tests to deal with chronic diseases.

More emphasis will be placed on
nutrient testing to see if the body
has the needed vitamins, minerals and amino acids which produce
enzymes, neurotransmitters, repair
cells, etc.
All these tools are available today. Only you can make the decision
for better health. Find the right person to help you and be diligent with
the process. Recovering and maintaining your health requires a commitment, but the rewards are well
worth it.
STAY HEALTHY!

a

Saw you in the Ojo 27

Feathered Friends
By John Keeling

Golden-fronted Woodpecker

T

he golden-fronted woodpecker is the commonest of the woodpeckers
we see on the lakeshore. If you
visit the LCS gardens, or walk along
the beach you are likely to hear
the cheerily trilled ‘chirrrr, chirrrr’
above you. Look up and you may
see the bird hanging on to the side of
the trunk of a tree, working its way
upward, all the while seeking insects
in the crevices of the bark. They are
not shy birds. You will sometimes
even see one clinging to the top of
a concrete telephone pole, where it
will have a good view and perhaps
find some insects if it is lucky.
This species is found from Texas
as far south as Nicaragua, and are
year-round residents. At nine inches
long they are regarded as mediumsized woodpeckers. To identify the
bird, look at the head. The face is
buff colored, and in our part of the
range the male has the “gold-redorange” sequence of patches at the
bill, the cap and the nape, as you can
see in the photo above. The wings
are barred black and white, while
the breast is buff. The female is almost the same, but lacks the red cap,
showing only the gold and orange
patches.
It is not clear whether the ‘golden-fronted’ name refers to the gold
around the bill, or the scarcely-seen
lemon yellow coloring on the lower
belly.
In the spring time the male will
choose a nesting territory of several
acres which it will defend for the duration of the nesting period. It will

mate with a chosen female, and will
chip out a nest hole in a living or dead
tree some 10 to 20 feet above the
ground. The relationship is usually
monogamous. The female lays about
five eggs which are incubated by the
male at night and by the female during the day. After 13 days the eggs
hatch and both parents share in the
responsibility of feeding the young
for the 25 days before they fly, and
for a few weeks after that.
Sometimes the male will choose
to nest in a tall cactus, fence post or a
telephone pole. A hundred years ago
in the early days of the telephone, it
was encouraged in the US to shoot
these woodpeckers because their
nesting holes seriously damaged
the telephone poles that were being
erected across the nation.
Their diet changes with the season, as occurs with many bird species. In the summer they feed on insects such as ants, flies, beetles, and
grasshoppers, supplemented by the
occasional small frog or lizard. In
the fall, when the young no longer
need feeding, the birds may wander extensively to find other food
sources such as fruits, berries, nuts
and seeds.
Woodpeckers have unusually
long, barbed tongues designed to retrieve insects that the bird may see
or hear deep inside crevices. This
tongue is so long that when it is retracted it curls in a circle inside the
skull round the right eye.
John Keeling and his wife Rosemary lead the ‘Lake Chapala Birding Club’ which is a group of people
interested in birds. To receive notices
of bird walks etc., write to avesajijic@yahoo.com.

a

28

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Saw you in the Ojo 29

Hearts at Work
—A Column by Jim Tipton

“Living (and Loving) to Age 100”

A

ccording to The Centenarian (www.thecentenarian.co.uk) the fastest
growing part of the world population is people 100 and older. They
now number around 450,000. Currently the US with 72,000 holds the
largest number, but Japan at 30,000 is
number two and a serious challenger
because it has the highest centenarian
growth rate in the world—the population of Japanese people over 100
has quadrupled in the past ten years.
China, with a much larger population than the United States and Japan
combined, has only 7,000 centenarians.
Based on her 1888 birth certificate, perhaps the oldest person in the
world is Mariam Amash, a Palestinian woman living in northern Israel
and now 122 years old. That’s a lot of
candles to blow out on that festooned
honey cake. Mariam—although it

30

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

es those of us who favor zero
makes
zeropopulation growth tear out our remaining hair—has given birth to 10
children, and she now has 120 grandchildren, 250 great-grandchildren,
and more than 30 great-great-grandchildren. Mariam’s secret to long
life? Lots of vegetables and lots of
olive oil: “I drink it by the glass.”
Mexico has a sizable number of
centenarians. One of them, Juan Carlos Caballero, passed away at age
109 only last April in a home for old
people in Monterrey, Mexico. The
young Juan was a driver for Pancho
Villa during the Revolution. Until

shortly before his death Juan walked
several kilometers a day. In recent
years, Juan has assured them that
should social injustice rear its ugly
head and should there be another uprising he would “once again take up
arms….”
Like Juan, most centenarians live
physically active lives. Many are
still working well into their 80s and
90s. Most are lean; most have never
smoked heavily or abused alcohol;
most have at least one other longlived close relative; most deal well
with stress; most live in non-toxic
environments; most have a spiritual
focus in their lives; and, I have been
convinced by a lovely young lady,
most of them read several poems
each day.
Here at Lakeside more and more
people are living into their 90s, some
to 100. There is no doubt many of us
will become centenarians. But back
in the States, those middle-aged and
younger are increasingly more likely
to live shorter lives. Robin McKie,
Science Editor for The Observer,
says that “Twenty years ago, the US,
the richest nation on the planet, led
the world’s longevity league. Today,
American women rank only 19th,
while males can manage only 28th
place, alongside men from Brunei.”
Regardless, I live at Lakeside and

intend to live at least to 100. How do
I know? Last summer I visited Doña
Sofia de Garza, a famous curandera
who lives near Colima, to ask her
how to do this. I was fascinated by
Doña Sofia’s gold bangles, both on
her ears and on her wrists, and by her
full (and fabled) bosom ready to burst
out of her gauzy Mexican blouse, and
by her skirt, a deep and sultry red,
and by her eyes, so deliciously dark
with tiny flecks of gold, and yes, by
her mouth--which at age seventy was
still remarkably desirable. Incredibly, she looked like only a slightly
older version of the gypsy girl played
by Salma Hayek in The Hunchback.
In less than thirty minutes of consultation, Doña Sofia divined the
solution and assured me that indeed
I could live to be more than onehundred. The secret, she whispered
to me, through that delectable mouth
that would remain with me in imagination for many months, was to love
women of all ages, to kiss them on
their lips as often
as possible and
as passionately as
each situation permitted…and to pay
her only $400 pesos
for everything she
had just revealed
Jim Tipton
to me.

a

Saw you in the Ojo 31

In Ajijic
Where everyone’s from
South Dakota
Except my neighbors,
Jim and Rhoda.
Where anytime you hear a WOOF!
You cast your gaze upon a roof.
Where gringos mangle Spanish I-No tengo dance—forgive the pun.
Where burros saben mas que tu,
And several even sound like you.
Where anytime you might request a
Rain check from the next fiesta.
Where prior to shopping please arrange
To have a pocketful of change.

32

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Where Señor Tope reigns supreme.
“Slow down,” he says. “Enjoy the dream.”
Where tethered horses congregate
And make the hapless autos wait.
Where roosters, egrets,
hummingbirds
Can leave you at a loss for words.

Where Shakespeare
names like Flavio,
Aurora, and Octavio
Are pleasantly simpatico.

Where breezes blowing off the lake
Invite retirement for their sake.

Mark Sconce
In Ajijic

a

Saw you in the Ojo 33

Phone: (376) 766-4774 or 765-3676 to leave messages
Email: kdavis987@gmail.com
PAST EVENTS:
Throughout
July,
the old Train Station in
Chapala (Centro Cultural
Gonzalez Gallo) has displayed trains of World
War II. The display included
photos and models, some
familiar in appearance and
some European models
that reflected the Art Deco
era, sleek and sexy in their
styling. Uniforms were also
displayed, and the feeling
of Nazi domination of that
time, though subtle, was
One of model WWII trains on display at
evident.
The story about the
the Old Train Station
train station goes back to
the beginning of the last century. An abundance of wealthy people began developing
several projects. The station was built by a civil engineer in the 1920s. The ChapalaGuadalajara train ran a busy route daily–an engine, five red wagons with red velvet
seats–carrying passengers morning and afternoon to and from Chapala and La Capilla where connections could be made to Mexico City. Then, in 1925 Lake Chapala
rose a full meter and flooded the station. The train operated for only a short time, not
only because of the flood, but because a paved road was built from Guadalajara to
Chapala through Ixtlahuacán de Membrillos. In 1926 railroad operations ceased. Today it is a museum, offering shows of art, music, anthropology and history.
In July there was a Garden Seed Party held in Chapala, along with a Veggie
Potluck and a movie on the topic. Following a Seed and Stuff Swap using garden
tools, discussion focused on Bio-dynamic Gardening: problems, needs and resources.
If natural gardening is something you know, or want to know, contact Lea Ament at 7654779 or ladyofthelake1111@
hotmail.com.
CASA (Culinary Arts
Society of Ajijic) awarded
an early BING to Mary Ann
Waite, celebrating her 1st
place dish, Mustard Roasted Beef & Vegetables with
Horseradish Sauce. A BING
award requires winning first
place three times within a
year. The theme at this meeting was French food with two
categories, a French main
dish or a French dessert. Mary
Ann Waite won 1st place in the
main dish category, followed
by Cheryl Davis for her ShorCASA winners: Mary Ann Waite,
tribs of Beef Bourguinon with
Cheryl Davis, Monica Malloy
Lentils while third place was
won by Monica Malloy for her
Stuffed Sea Bass in Puff Pastry. Karen Rowell won People’s Choice for her Cuisses
de Volaille aux Cerises, Olives Verts Sauce Porto.
After these scrumptious entrees, French desserts wowed the crowd and the judges who awarded Lydia Cortez 1st place for her Delice Aux Mangues et aux Bananes.
Crepes Cerese with Cherry Rum Sauce won second place for Phil Posner while third
place went to first time presenter Nancy Webb for her Espresso Glazed Profiteroles.
People’s Choice went to Christine L’Ecluse for her Strawberry Croquembouche.
Hugues Coude du Foresto, a French citizen who lives with his family in Ajijic,
shared his knowledge of French wines and their histories. Known as Hugo, he was

34

a consultant for the Pernod Ricard Group before starting his own wine and liquor
distribution company.
All who would like to join in learning about,
preparing and enjoying good food are encouraged to call Patrick Winn at 766-4842. He can
also be reached by email at patriciowinn@
hotmail.com. He would be delighted to invite
those interested to come as his guest to the
next monthly meeting.
EVENTS TO COME:
August 5 at 3 p.m. the Cruz Roja BBQ
will begin at the Country Club de Chapala.
There will be great food, music, dancing and
plenty of fun. Raffle tickets will be drawn at 5
Cruz Roja BBQ and
p.m. for big winnings, and you do not have to
be there to win: 1st place is $15,000 pesos;
Lottery – Be a Winner!
2nd place is $7,000 pesos; and 3rd place is
$3,000 pesos. Raffle tickets are still available for $100 pesos
each from Cruz Roja representatives at their table at the Lake
Chapala Society, at Trattoria Axixic Restaurant or from any
Cruz Roja volunteer.
November 12 – 14 the Feria Maestros del Lago (Artisan
Fair) will return to the Chapala Yacht Club (Club de Yates)
in Chapala. More details later. Just keep it in mind and maybe
mark your calendar.
Multiple Events:
The American Legion post
#7 schedule for August:
Sundays: 12 – 3 p.m. Legion
grill burgers
Aug 4 – No US Consulate
Aug 6 – 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. Yard
Sale
Aug 12 – 5 p.m. – Auxiliary
event: Smarter than a 5th Grader
Aug 14 – 3 p.m. Maple Leaf
At the Feria,
Prison Dolls, Club: bring botanas
Aug 21 – 5 p.m. Candlelight
each unique, Dinner
Down home good
will make
Aug 26 – 3 p.m. Lone Star
and
service with a
Aug 27 – 5 p.m. Facility event:
their first
smile
Night
appearance Sausage
For information, call 765-2259
or www.americanlegionchapalapost7.org
In early July the Lake Chapala
Society hosted a Book Fair and
Bake Sale. The bake sale table offered such treats as homemade ice
cream, pies, muffins and cakes.
Tables were also set up on the patio
and around the coffee bar, covered
with books – an appealing and accessible arrangement for authors
and buyers to talk with each other.
Videos and DVDs were on sale, as
well as books from the library. Rain
may have discouraged some potential visitors, but those who turned
out had a chance to find excellent
reading material by local authors.
Mayita Levy proudly offers the
In the photo of Mayita Levy, notice
cookbook A La Mesa
there are brochures on that table
from HumanaMente, the voice for
mental health in Jalisco, a worthy cause. For more information on LCS, check www.
lakechapalasociety.org.
Lakeside Little Theatre news:
The Lakeside Little Theatre thanks facilitator Graham Miller and all those involved
in the Summer Studio 2010 “Developing Your Imagination & Creativity” Acting Workshop and presentation. Many new and past performers showed their talent to enthusiastic audiences.
Audition announcement for LLT’s second show of Season 46: Blithe Spirit, written by Noel Coward and directed by Shirley Appelbaum. Auditions for this classic,
supernatural comedy are scheduled for August 20-21. Five women and five men are

Continued on page 42

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Saw you in the Ojo 35

The

Spanish were amazed to
find that Moctezuma’s palace amenities included a fairly comprehensive zoo. It should not have been
surprising. Animals played several
important roles in the lives of early
Mesoamericans; as food, objects of
fear and worship, even as pets. Game
animals were lured and conciliated
by the sympathetic hunting magic of
such rituals as the Yaqui Deer Dance.
Predators were propitiated and kept at
bay by similar rites. Many gods took
on animal aspects. Ce Atl Topiltzin,
as Feathered Serpent, Dog God and
Monkey God, was a small menagerie
in himself.
There was often a personal association as well. Since many calendrical day names were animals and every
person bore the name of his birthday,
most people had animal names like
8-Deer, 13-Rabbit etc.. Furthermore,
everyone was believed to be born
with an invisible and mysterious
‘other,’ an alter-ego which frequently
took animal form.
There is little wonder, then, that
animals were a favorite subject of
artists. We find
them everywhere,
painted
on walls

and dishes, carved in stone, wood or
bone, cast in precious metals, woven
in textiles and molded in clay. They
took the form of monumental statues,
ritual vessels, incense burners, masks
and even wheeled pull-toys. Tiny
figurines found in graves at Tlatilco
and dating from 800-500 BC show
women cuddling pets.

Jaguar

This big cat, as the most fearsome
of predators, was a symbol of power.
Princes ruled from jaguar thrones
and elite warrior/knights
proudly bore the
name and wore
jaguar skins into
battle. The fourth
world in the Maya
creation myths
was known as
the Jaguar Sun
and as the Zapotec god, Tepeyollotl, he
was believed
to control earthquakes. Naturally, his image
is everywhere
and this polychrome
clay statue from Oaxaca is only one
exam pie.

Monkey

The Mayan Popol Vuh (Book of
Creation) often mentions monkeys
and it was considered a guarantee of
good luck and prosperity to be born
under his day sign, Ozomatli. As the
Wind God aspect of Quetzalcoatl, he
was worshipped throughout Central
America. This example, about two
feet tall, was unearthed during construction of the Mexico city Metro
and has attributes
of both. The
coiled platform and the
long, sinuous
tail represent
the Plumed
Serpent while
the bird beak, with
which he creates
the wind, identifies
him as Ehecatl.

Dog

The hairless dog was

36

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

bred as a table delicacy but the little
animals also guided the dead on their
underworld journey. Though the Dog
God, Xolotl, was yet another aspect
of Quetzalcoatl the most common
representations come from tombs. Of
these, the most charming are the lifesized specimens produced in Colima
(300 BC-300 AD). Modeled in clay in
very lifelike poses and finished with
polished red slip, they often doubled

of his cargo.

Pine Martin

The martin played no
significant role in mythology and was not an
important food source

as containers for offerings of food
or drink.

Coyote

Oddly enough, the coyote was
associated by the Aztecs with human
sexuality and fertility. This small statue is 15 inches in
height and comes
from Tenochtitlan
(AD 1428-1521).
With his thickly layered fur,
perky ears and
lolling tongue,
he is lovingly
and realistically executed.
Judging from
his expression,
he appears to
find the whole
idea of human
worship highly
amusing.

Rabbit

For most Mesoamericans the rabbit was associated with lunar worship
because that was what they saw in the
markings on the moon. The Aztecs,
however, identified him with the gods
of pulque, whose Nahua name translates as “400 Rabbits.” This playful
bunny from Tenochtitlan probably
served as a capacious container for
the potent brew and looks as if he just
might have imbibed a little too much
Continued on page 41

Saw you in the Ojo 37

38

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Saw you in the Ojo 39

40

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

co south of Veracruz and dates from
pre-Totonac times (AD 400-700).
The angry pose, teeth bared and back
arched, is quite typical of these tiny,
but fiercely territorial, animals.

Mouse

The talented potters of Western
Mexico seemed fascinated by all life
forms. Even a tiny mouse, like this
but
t h i s
little creature
is irresistible. Very
little is known about him except that he was found
near the Rio Blan-

Bat

Birds, especially the domesticated
turkey, were important food sources
and many were either associated
with gods or worshipped in their
own right. The eagle was the totem
of one sect of warrior knights, the
Aztec War God’s name translates as
“Hummingbird on the Left” and the
owl, who often accompanied him,
was also thought to be a harbinger of
the Death God’s approach. This urn
from a burial in Monte Alban (AD
600-900) represents the Bat God.
Such effigies were commonly placed

one found in a proto-classic (300 BC300 AD) shaft tomb in Colima, was
modeled with consumate skill and
fidelity. He is about six inches long
with the polished red slip finish typical of that area. Despite the strange
anomaly of the spout on his back,
one can almost see him scurrying
furtively about in search of crumbs.

Grasshopper

No form of life seemed too insignificant to inspire the artist; even

the lowly insect was well represented. The butterfly seems to have
been associated with the Feathered
Serpent cult and the walls of one
temple in Teotihuacan are covered
with them. Beetles and spiders, even
cockroaches, were also popular, usually as painted decorations on walls
or dishes but sometimes actually
modelled in clay. This magnificent
red stone grasshopper was reputedly
found in 1875 during the construction
of Chapultepec Castle. Chapultepec
is the Nahua word for “Grasshopper
Hill.”

Opossum

One of the few species actually
domesticated, the tlacuache was, and
still is, a popular Mesoamerican pet.
In Post Classic times he, like the rabbit, came to be associated with the
Pulque cult. This anthropomorphic

above tomb entries and seem to have
served as guardians.

Crab

Marine life has always been an important food source and was certainly
not neglected in pre-Columbian
art. Fish, squid, shellfish, turtles
and frogs abound in paintings,
carvings ceramics and jewelry.
Moctezuma’s welcoming gift to
Cortez was a magnificent necklace of golden shrimp. Surprisingly,
this menacing looking crab comes
from the inland valley of Oaxaca and
dates from the Mixtec era of domination (AD 1250-1521).
figure is hollow with a large opening
at the top and one arm serving as a
spout. It comes from a Huastec burial
(AD 1200-1521) and probably held a
funeral offering of pulque to ease the
journey to the underworld.

Saw you in the Ojo 41

needed for this play. Performances are November
6-14. For scripts and information, contact Shirley
Appelbaum at sandyappelbaum@yahoo.com.
If you would like to volunteer behind the scenes,
the LLT is always looking
for people to train in lighting,
sound, wardrobe, props,
make-up, stage managing
and other positions. Contact Don Chaloner at 7661975 or email at 77dondo@
gmail.com.
Lakeside Little Theatre’s
Season Ticket Renewals
and New Sales Event for
At the back patio Angel Bar prior to the Season 46, 2010-2011 is
performance July 9th
on Tuesday & Wednesday,
September 7-8 in the LLT
Lobby from 10-1. The Season Ticket price is $800 pesos for six shows. Individual tickets are $150 pesos. Season ticket holders who DO NOT WISH TO RENEW, please
notify Paula McTavish at mctavish@prodigy.net.mx or 766-0954 (leave message) as
soon as possible.
Season Ticket Holders are invited to the LLT Members’ Kickoff Party September
18 from 5-7 p.m.
The Lakeside Little Theatre encourages and welcomes everyone interested in
acting, new or experienced, to attend auditions for any of this season’s plays.
Love in Action Center has reported that two vegetable gardens were planted, thanks to a visiting team of dedicated volunteers, young people and parents
from a United Church in Wilsonville, Oregon. Work was done under the supervision of Joe deLeon, project coordinator for LIA. Joe stated, “I am very proud of the
project. The Oregon group did a terrific job on the gardens and irrigation system, and
they also donated 10 soccer balls for the kids.”
One of the children from LIA has become director of a rehab center to help addicted people get their lives back. Having grown up in a barrio where drugs were too
readily available and wasted too many lives, this young man decided to make help
just as available to his friends and neighbors.
Love in Action is a home for orphaned young children. They started in Tepehua,
the barrio on top of the mountain in central Chapala. Now they have a facility, also in
central Chapala, where there is room for the gardens that were just planted and, more
especially, room for children to learn, play and grow. You can read more about this
facility at www.loveinactioncenter.org.
MAS MUSICA (Music Appreciation Society) gets the 2010-2011 concert season off to an exciting start with a gratis Gala Kick-off Party for Season Ticket
holders on October 15 at La Nueva Posada. The soprano,
Jillian Cox, from San Antonio, Texas, will perform opera arias and popular songs
as patrons enjoy wine and botanas on the lovely garden terrace of the hotel’s lakeside restaurant, starting at 4:30 p.m.
Season tickets will be sold September 7 – October 15 at the Tickets booth at
LCS. Prices remain the same
as last year at $1500 pesos,
$1200 pesos and $1000 pesos.
All performances will be at the
Auditorio de la Ribera in La Floresta.
The scheduled season is:
Oct. 26 – Flamenco Dance
Gala with Spanish dancer Antonio Jimenez and his talented
ensemble of three dancers and
four musicians who enthralled
the audience last year.
Nov. 16 – Jalisco Classical Ballet Company presents a
Suite from the “Nutcracker” and
several “Pas de Dix o Quatra” a Stunning evening of dance
Dec. 14 – Chris Wilshire and
Jim Collums with a guest
his 18 piece Chamber Orchestra delight guests with unforgetat Open Circle

42

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

table performances of the works of Corelli, Grieg, Holst, and Copeland
Jan. 13 – Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, Guadalajara’s world-class symphony with an “Enchanted Evening in Paris – 1910”
Feb. 15 – Bob Milne, Ragtime and Jazz piano virtuoso and historian, is sure to
hold us spellbound during this final exciting event of the concert season
MAS MUSICA is always happy to welcome new volunteers to help with ticket
sales, hospitality and other concert related duties. Please contact Beverly at 7656409, bjely49@hotmail.com. Also, refer to web site MASajijic.com.
Open Circle meets on the LCS back patio each Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Coffee
and tea are offered at 10 a.m. along with little sandwiches. The guest speaker on
June 4 was Jim Collums who read some of his short stories. The schedule for August
is:
Aug. 8
Dr. Corbova – chelation water therapy
Aug. 15
Chuck Giles – story telling for caregivers
Aug. 22
Robert Krakoff – computer games and the brain
Aug. 29
David Truly
VIVA! La Musica Season tickets (auditorium, 7:30 p.m.) are still for sale at LCS (10
– 12): Single tickets are $250 pesos for members and $300 pesos for non-members. Add
$50 pesos for the opera.
Aug. 19 Issac Ramirez, cello; Andres
Sarre, piano
Sep. 14 Ensemble Filarmonica: Luciano
Perez; soprano, Dolores Moreno
Note: this is a Tuesday.
Oct. 21 Rigoletto, a fully staged opera,
conducted by Luís Rodriquez
VIVA will hold auditions for promising music students seeking Viva educational grants
on August 24 at St. Andrews Church. Members are welcome to attend and listen. For information, please call Rosemary at 766-1801,
rosemarykeeling@gmail.com.
Sometimes we see signs in Spanish that
make us smile or relate to something back
home. Here is one found along the edge of
the lake. “Please do not disturb the plants, the
gardeners or the rocks. Thank you.”
Every so often someone asks me if I feel
Opera Rigoletto
safe in Mexico. They are, of course, concerned about cartel wars and the government’s ongoing battle to break them up.
Besides knowing that the vast majority of those battles are near the border, I feel at
least as safe in Mexico as I did when I lived in the USA or in Canada.
In California there was a battle taking place in Los Angles between blacks and
another minority group, and police were turning cars around to keep them out of dangerous neighborhoods. That happened more than once. And in New York while I was
crossing Manhattan, young men attempted to open my car doors when I stopped for
a red light. I hit the master lock and the gas pedal. I got away.
In British Columbia there was one neighborhood I refused to drive through at night
when I was alone, but there were safe alternative routes where I had no qualms. The
problem was rapid immigration and people without the language skills needed to
work. They formed gangs, but in
time they adapted.
Here, in Mexico, I have been
advised to keep moving when
there are federal troops dealing
with hostiles. I felt protected.
Some people think I am naïve
– at my age, naïve does not apply.
But I do think this is a rapidly developing country with a promising
future. There are always problems
that go with change.
Lakeside, are we safe? If we
pay attention, we should be. I believe that applies everywhere. I
like it here, and I’m staying.
There are many organizations
here that help people. Why not get
involved and share your skills and
your warmth?

A miniature garden

Saw you in the Ojo 43

HOW RUGS GET SOLD
By Margaret Van Every
vanevery@comcast.nett
José the rug vendor by the side of the road
will tell you he comes from Oaxaca
where his family raises the sheep,
dyes the wool, and weaves the rugs.
Pick your favorite, says he, gesturing
at myriad rugs of clashing hues,
stacked and hanging, clamoring for
adoption. Take them home and
try them out; exchange them if you will.
He studies you intently, sidles close
and murmurs guapa in your ear,
then gauges whether flattery has enhanced
his rug’s appeal. If not, he offers
a discount specially for you,
10 percent off in exchange for... a beso.
You wonder if your Spanish
or your hearing is amiss.
You ponder if he’ll offer next
the whole-rug discount, but instead
you present your cheek and then
to your surprise he finds your lips.
And now you exit this bizarre stage,
giddy, with a rolled-up rug beneath your wing
as over and again you replay the scene,
savoring a phantom impression on the mouth
that lingers like Oaxaca heat.

44

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Saw you in the Ojo 45

Anyone
A
nyone C
Can
an Train
Train
n Their
Their
r Dog
Dog
By Art Hess

I

’m often asked when you
should start training your
dog and I always answer
“the day you bring your dog
home.” Now before someone gets
all bent out of shape, let’s talk about
training. Webster’s simplest definition says “to rear and instruct” and if
we accept this concept then we have
to start as soon as possible. Obviously some pups arrive as young as
six to eight weeks and older dogs
can be a year or somewhat older.
Either way if we are “to rear and instruct” it’s never too early.
There’s more to training than the
standard sit, come, down, heel, stay
routine. Teaching all of the things
that are required in order to create a
well mannered dog that is going to
be a pleasure to be around, requires
as much or more structured effort
than just teaching the so called basic obedience.
The entire process of exposing
our puppy to all of these additional
experiences is known as socializing.
The experts that study these things
have determined that the first 18 to
20 weeks (4 to 5 months) form the
most critical period. This is the time
when the puppy learns how to meet
people plus all the wonderful and
sometime scary things that go along
with them. It may be a hair dryer, a
leaf blower or all the way up to motorcycles and big trucks and busses.
Oh yes let’s not forget those pesky
cohetes. This is when your puppy
learns how to ride in the car without going ballistic and how to walk
on a loose leash and walk past dogs
and kids playing with balls and to
sit and wait when horses are passing
and to not bark rudely when company comes and all those countless

other lifetime experiences.
It is suggested that during this
time our puppy should meet 100
different people. At best this is a big
challenge and probably the easiest
way is to take the puppy to public
places where you can have him meet
people. Sometimes we have to explain to strangers that we are schooling a puppy and would appreciate if
they would quietly meet and greet
our dog. Our vet will discourage
taking the puppy into a public place
until he has had his second multi
shot but common sense can prevail.
Obviously you’ll avoid the puppy
on the street that has a runny nose
and crusty eyes. And mange and
most of those types of problems are
pretty obvious. These are situations
that you’ll simply avoid. This also
is not the time for puppy to meet the
really aggressive and pushy types at
the play park but again I work on
the premise that most people have
enough common sense to be a pack
leader and not a bubble head.
If puppy isn’t exposed to these
things in a calm and confidence
building manner during the socializing period you can be assured
that problems will jump up and bite
you in the backside as you struggle
through your first year with these
challenges. The socializing process
isn’t all that mystical but it requires
time. In fact it’s quite simple because all you have to do is make
sure your puppy gets a couple of
hours a day experiencing life and
when something new pops up he’s
encouraged through the experience
with a calmly assertive attitude so
you build his confidence and discourage unfavorable actions.
Remember if you hit a tope
or just have a
question
email
me at arthedogguy@yahoo.com
LOOSE LEASHES
HAPPY
TAILS.

a

46

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Art Hess

Saw you in the Ojo 47

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

D

ear Sir:
No one has done
more for the local
cats than Barb Hess. She is an
exceptional person and truly
a cat lover. I am thankful that
all the shelter cats are tested
for Leukemia and I wish that
others did this too. Maybe
they do, I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t inquired.
However I must speak
out and say that Feline Leukemia can be cured. I have done
it. You can too. Three of my cats
tested positive; fourteen months
later they were negative. The cure
can be tedious and time consuming
but it is not especially expensive or
difficult. It does not involve drugs
or even a trip to the vet. There are
several places on the web providing information but I used a diet
prescribed by a vet in Mpls. I never
even met the man. He explained it
all in a phone call. I am good at
following directions so it worked.
He had several positive cats. He
promised me that my cats would
be fine and he was correct.

48

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Not everyone wants to make
the necessary changes but I believe
that cat owners should at least be
informed that they have options.
The shelter that I worked with
in MN was reluctant to acknowledge my results altho they were
the ones that test my cats positive
and later tested them negative.
They saw the proof but seemed resistant to the necessary information. I have often wondered why.
Alicia Macnamara
766-4882

a

Saw you in the Ojo 49

Heart’s Desire
A short story by Jim Tipton

A

t age seventy-five,
Peter Larson gave
away or threw out
most of his old life, packed
up what was left into a few
boxes, got into his old red
Pontiac and drove south, to
Mexico, to begin a new life.
It was in late spring, toward the end of the dry season
in the tropical mountains of
central Mexico, when he discovered Chapala, a little town
on the shores of a large lake.
He loved Chapala. He
loved his tiny Mexican house
on Zaragoza Street, only three
blocks behind the plaza. He
loved having enough money to live
on. Since his rent was only $300 each
month, his Social Security allowed
him to live in satisfactory comfort.
He was even able to hire a middleaged Mexican woman living on his
block to clean for him two mornings
a week for a total of $20 a week. He
had little to clean but nevertheless he
liked the thought of having a cleaning lady.
One summer morning, after the
season of rain had begun in earnest,
Peter woke up early feeling thoroughly refreshed. He breathed in the
moist air, he listened to the drops
hitting the red tile roof, he stretched,
he patted the still taut muscles on
his tummy, he smiled. After a long
shower, he stood before his mirror
and stared, suddenly shocked at how
shaggy his white hair and beard had
become. He had not had them cut
since he had come to Mexico.
He had noticed, though, in his
morning walks to the plaza where
he bought what food he needed at
the Mercado, that there were lots of
little shops on Juarez, the street that
ran behind the plaza; and so this particular morning, searching on that
same street, he discovered Estética
Pelo Feliz, where through the open
door he saw a young señorita seated
in her chair, watching a television
mounted high in the corner.
“Disponible?” he said, in his best
beginning Spanish.
“Si, Señor, pase.”
She stood up and waved him to
her chair. He liked the warm seat.
That morning as she cut both his
hair and his beard, he studied her
soft lips, which were heart-shaped,
or at least like a flattened-out heart,
rounded nicely at the bottom.

50

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

On her fresh white shirt, embroidered in dark red, was her name:
Jazmín.
Jazmín bent directly in front of
him to shave off much of his beard
and then to shape it with scissors.
His face in the mirror looked younger and younger.
It was difficult for Peter not to
look into Jazmín’s brown eyes. She
was, at the most, twenty years old.
Jazmín’s breasts accidentally
brushed against his bare arm as she
leaned over him, comb in one hand,
scissors in the other. Peter realized he had not been touched since
he had come to Mexico. Or maybe
much longer than that. He felt his
heart leap.
Peter… and Jazmín… what a
pair, he thought. He had read that
Mexican girls liked older men.
The following week Peter returned, wanting the beard still
shorter. He showed her how much
by holding his thumb and forefinger
slightly apart.
Smiling, Jazmín accommodated
Peter.
He liked everything about her
estética, her salon, except the name,
Pelo Feliz, “Happy Hair.” Peter
thought that because of those heartshaped lips on the face of the lovely
Jazmín he would re-name it Estética
Heart’s Desire.
A few more days passed and Peter returned, again demonstrating
with his fingers that he wanted the
beard still shorter. Jazmín laughed
and led him to her chair, taking a
lot of time to trim what little was
left but still leaving the pretense of
a beard. Jazmín realized the old man
was lonely.
“Muy guapo,” she said.
Handsome? Peter hadn’t been

touched in a long time but it was
years since a woman had said he was
handsome. This time when he tried
to pay her and leave her a big tip,
Jazmín waved his hand away.
“Está bien,” she said.
He walked over to the plaza feeling his almost bare face. It was beginning to rain. He sat down on a
wet iron bench and looked up to the
sky. It felt good, the rain falling on
his face.
He remembered how much he
loved to watch the rain falling on
the windshield when he was with a
girl at the Starlight Drive-In Theater
in the 1950s. He imagined watching Creature from the Black Lagoon
with Jazmín. As the huge creature…
half human, half monster…rose out
of the Amazon, Peter would turn
the speaker box down low and pull
Jazmín closer.
“It’s so big,” Jazmín would
squeal.
Frightened, she would turn her
face up toward his, run her hands
expertly over his freshly shaved
skin, and then Peter would see those
heart-shaped lips slightly open, and
kiss them.
It was raining harder in the plaza
now, but still Peter could hear the
sucking sound of those thick wind-

shield wipers on that 1948 Buick
Roadster V-8: Thaw-whump, thawwhump, thaw-whump. Or was that
his own heart beating…thaw-whump,
thaw-whump, thaw-whump…? Well,
he thought, one pump is about the
same as another.
Peter closed his eyes, opened his
mouth wide, and tipped his head back
to catch the rain. The drops were
large, like milk. There would be time
enough when the rain stopped to go
find shelter. Then he would buy one
of those hard rolls with the chewy
centers that the Mexicans call bolillos and eat it slowly along with a cup
of coffee laced with cream and sugar
and cinnamon.
Satisfied, he would walk back to
his clean house on Zaragosa Street.
Everything was so green. Everything
grew so fast in the rainy season. He
would check his beard in the mirror
to see whether it had grown since he
had left Yazmín.
In the afternoon he would walk
over to Heart’s
Desire for another
trim. Maybe all of
it should come off
this time.
Life had never
been so good.

a

Jim Tipton

Saw you in the Ojo 51

A MONTH IN PERU
Part One

By Mel Goldberg

Arequipa and Colca Canyon

W
W

e flew from Lima
on a Lan Peru
flight to Arequipa
sometimes called the White City
because so many buildings are
constructed of white, volcanic
stone.
Central to the city is the Plaza
de Armas, the main square, dominated by the nineteenth century
La Catedral, the only cathedral
in Peru to stretch the entire length
of a plaza. Around the square are
also two-story buildings housing shops, many with restaurants
above. After shopping and taking
photographs, we lunched on a balcony overlooking the square.
After lunch we visited the San-

52

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

ta Catalina Convent, a Cloister
built in the seventeenth Century,
and still home to about 20 nuns
(there were 500 in centuries past).
We went back in time as we entered and saw the patios and gardens. The nuns live in a section of
the Convent which is their entire
physical world.
We had dinner at a local restaurant and my son Michael tried
a Peruvian delicacy called cuy
(guinea pig). It was served whole,
splayed and breaded on a plate. I
tried a taste, but there is not much
meat on this small rodent, although
is has been revered for centuries

by native Peruvians. My meal of
choice was alpaca steak, similar to
arrechera but not quite as tender.
No visit to Arequipa would be
complete without seeing the museum of the ice maiden mummy.
Momia Juanita is not a mummy
in the Egyptian sense. She is the
frozen body of a 12–14 year old
Inca girl who died between 1450
and 1480 and is preserved in her
frozen state in the museum.
She was discovered in 1995
near the top of Mount Ampato by
anthropologist Johan Reinhard
and his Peruvian climbing partner Miguel Zarate. When they
climbed Ampato to take pictures
of the eruption of nearby volcano
Sabancaya, they discovered an
Inca burial site unearthed by the
eruption. Juanita was thought to
be an offering to the mountain deity of Ampato, in the belief her
spirit would become deified and
worshiped by local indigenous
peoples.
After a day viewing the ice
maiden, we ate dinner on a balcony restaurant overlooking the Plaza and listened to Peruvian music
sung in Aymara, a local language.
We opted for something more filling than cuy. We ate Papa a la
Huancaina, potatoes covered in a
cheesy, slightly spicy yellow turmeric sauce served on top of lettuce and Lomo Saltado, strips of
steak sautéed in soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, chilies, onions and tomatoes, served over a bed of rice.
We retired early since we had an 8
AM start the next morning to visit
Canyon de Colca.
TOCOLCA CANYON
Our private guide met us early
at our hotel and we departed on
the four hour drive to the Colca
Canyon, one of the deepest canyons in the world at 3180 meters
(10,433 feet). As we left the city
along narrow cobblestone streets,
we marveled at the magnificent
views of the three volcanoes,
Misti, Chachani and Pichu Pichu,
which overlook the city.
The narrow, winding road
climbed high into the Andes,
crossing Pampa Cañahuas in the
Aguada Blanca National Reserve.
Herds of vicuñas and alpacas,
prized for their soft wool coats,
wander throughout the reserve.
The highest point of the road, 4350
meters (14,272 feet), afforded unparalleled views of pre-Columbian
terraces, still being cultivated by

descendants of the Aymara, whose
life has changed little since Inca
times.
When we arrived at Colca Valley, we were told to rest, chew
coca leaves, and drink coca tea to
acclimate us to the altitude. The
scenery at this 14,000 foot altitude was magnificent and we experienced the breathlessness of the
high altitude.
We left early in the morning
for the Cruz del Condor, Condor’s
Cross, considered the best viewpoint to watch these biggest flying
birds in the world can soaring over
the peaks, ascending from the valley on early-morning thermals.
We were not alone. Hundreds had
gathered, hoping to view the huge
birds as they circle, looking for
carrion.
Unfortunately, after a wait of
several hours, our condor-viewing
experience was limited to one lone
condor above us at a height almost
too great for our telephoto lenses.
We left Cruz del Condor, ate
lunch in the village of Sumbay
and started the three hour bus ride
across the highlands to the town of
Puno on Lake Titicaca.
www.authormelgoldberg.com

a

Saw you in the Ojo 53

A Cold Killing
By Mel Goldberg
Rolemi Publishers, 2010, 118 Pages
Available locally at Diane Pearl Colecciones and at Coffee y Bagels
Reviewed by James Tipton

L

akeside author Mel
Goldberg has penned
and now published a
collection of eight murder mysteries done in classic style, usually
opening with the discovery of a body
(“Something terrible has happened
in compartment 35”), followed by
clues that too obviously lead to a
particular suspect, followed by clues
which themselves become suspect,
until the careful protagonist uncovers overlooked clues that suddenly
establish beyond doubt the villain.
Classic murder mysteries follow
this formula, and it is a formula that
has appealed to sophisticated readers
for almost two hundred years. With
good reason. In addition to the basic
elements of a good story—situation,
complication, resolution—the mystery novel tickles at the intellect,
drawing us into “figuring it out” on
our own. The genre was propelled
into high popularity by Arthur Conan Doyle with his creation of the
Sherlock Holmes stories (56 short
stories and four novelettes between
1887 and 1927).
Mel Goldberg’s protagonist, Aaron Guerevich, attended the Schechter Jewish Day School in Chicago,
studied Hebrew, considered the Yeshiva (advanced studies in Jewish
thought), and is familiar with books
like Maimonides Guide of the Perplexed. As a young man, he decided
“I could honor my mitzvot [Mosaic
law] better as a cop than as a student.” In the eight stories in A Cold
Killing, Guerevich is a detective
working for the police department in

Scottsdale,
Arizona.
Guerevich’s
S
d l A
i
G
i h’ attention to details, particularly details
that others pass by, has made him the
man to call.
Detective heroes who go it alone,
though, are usually less interesting
to us than detective heroes who have
companions…who come to their aid
with new ideas, who are sounding
boards, and sometimes a lot more.
The detective-and-the-companion
allows the author to develop the story through dialogue…and then we as
readers listen in.
Thus, Arthur Conan Doyle’s
Sherlock Holmes has his Dr. John
Hamish Watson (“Watson,” with
whom he shares a flat); John D.
MacDonald’s Travis McGee has his
analytical Dr. Meyer (“Just ‘Meyer,’
please”); Agatha Christie’s Hercule
Poirot has his easily fooled (but lovable) companion Arthur Hasting;
and Mel Goldberg’s Detective Aaron Guerevich has his (not so easily
fooled, but very lovable), fiancée,
Ann Berendt, “a forensic scientist
who studied in Edinborough and
London. Ann is able to dig up information and perform laboratory tests,
but she is also able to point out to
Guerevich, after a pleasurable time
in bed, that he has whipped cream in
his ear.
Like all fine mystery writers who
follow “the formula,” Goldberg
wisely offers us lots of “variations
on a theme,” so that rather than tire
of one similar story after another we
are instead eager to plunge into the
next story, not at all similar to the
preceding one.

a

54

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Saw you in the Ojo 55

Raging Against Old Age
By Bill Franklin

R

aging against
old age is stupid but I can’t
help it. Old age won’t leave
me alone so why should I
let it alone. Not only do I
feel like a corpse (and am
mad about it) I have mirror
issues. When I look in the
mirror I’m not there. Some
old guy is standing in for
me, some white haired guy I don’t
recognize. This can’t be me. But if
it is, what have I done to myself?
What did I do to my inner child?
Some impostor has dressed him up
in old man clothes. I have disappeared. I am nowhere to be found.
I’m like that TV show “Topper.”
Except Topper is alive and these
young, handsome ghosts are bugging him. You can’t find me in a
mirror but there are still plenty of
young people around.
Lousy young people are bopping about having the time of their
lives. And they get to look like

56

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

they think they do. And They can
walk fast. And They can laugh out
loud and They do it just about all
the time. And They seem to be in a
perpetual state of giddy. If I didn’t
know any better I would assume
the natural state of man is giddy.
So let me define life according to
how I see it. There are young people who are giddy, and then there
are old people who think mirrors
aren’t doing their job.
This is not a fine state of affairs. Don’t young people know
that giddy is just rubbing it in. And

walking fast is rubbing it in. And
any bouts of joy, that’s rubbing it
in too. I find myself secretly glad
that we are leaving them this huge
deficit. So what if we screw with
the earth a little and toss some oil
in gulfs. Let young giddy people
giddy up and fix it. I’m busy having issues with my mirror.
And I don’t think my generation is getting enough credit for
the sexual revolution. We upped
and flaunted it all and came up
with sexual liberation. We got our
hands on The Pill and we have had
the wind at our backs (sometimes
literally) ever since. But do you
think young people care we blazed
a trail so they can act like rabbits?
Do young people come up to me
and say, Hey we got it on last night
big time, Thanks. No, not once.
Not once has some beautiful couple who spent the night mating
come up to anybody from my generation and tipped their hat.
When I was a kid they taught us
about Ponce de Leon. We laughed
at him for thinking Florida water
could help. Nothing helps. Priests
and ministers die at the same age
as their sinful flocks. Nothing, not
purity, not ignorance of the law,
nothing works. Defining being six-

ty-one as middle age doesn’t help-61 plus 61 is 122. I’m doomed.
It doesn’t help to know that the
universe is going to get old someday too. The outlook for our Sun
is bleak. It’s going to fizzle out.
Darkness at the break of noon, a
shadow evens a silver spoon... it’s
bleak.
So I joined a gym. I have money taken out of my account every
month so I can spin on a bike going nowhere. Which is how I slow
down time. I can’t stop time but
20 minutes on the bike to nowhere
feels like a small lifetime.

a

Saw you in the Ojo 57

GRINGAS & GUACAMOLE
By Gail Nott

Baja Fruit Flies

T

wo of the
post-pubescent
Federales approached the car,
motioning with their guns
for me to pull to the left. As
I checked the rear and side mirrors, I noticed there were no other
cars, either stopped or entering the
checkpoint. A pile of sandbags to
my right housed the usual youngster with a machine gun. When I
drove along side a stone hut, two
men wearing masks appeared in the
doorway. I couldn’t discern if what
they held in their hands were guns
or not.
As my adrenalin started to pump,
I considered putting the gas pedal to
the floor and taking my chances on
being shot. I had driven over 500
miles down the Baja without incident; being robbed or perhaps killed
was not on my agenda. One of the
guards leaned toward me asking

58

that I open the
trunk. My foot
was still tickling the gas pedal
when I queried why
I had been stopped. Out
of the corner of my eye I
caught two masked men
moving toward the car.
“Senora, we must check
your car for contraband
and then spray it.” Spray
it seemed a hellava way
to describe riddling my car
with bullets. “Spray it for what,” I
demanded to know.
“Fruit flies, Senora.” Suddenly
the masked men began priming their
five gallon spray cans, nozzles skyward in readiness. How naïve I had
been to think I could drive my new
red, convertible sports car down the
Baja without incident.
Departing from Rosarito Beach
by 8 a.m., I had been told I could

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

reach Guerrero Negro, on the eastern
coast of Mexico, for whale watching
within five to six hours. No one had
prepared me for the hairpin turns
and sheer majesty of the Sierra Madres. With two hands gripping the
steering wheel, I pushed the Spyder
a little faster around each new set
of curves. The three-foot guard rail
seemed more like a sick joke than
a safety aid as the canyon floor lay
thousands of feet below on the left.
There wasn’t any margin for error;
sheer walls of rock rose on the right.
There were no shoulders and frequent signs announcing falling rock
heightened the thrill.
Multitudes of scraggly cactus
and a few stretches of level road
announced the entrance to the High
Plains. “The “Big Guy” must have
enjoyed creating this wonderland of
cactus and bizarre rock formations.
Behemoth orbs of rock, scoops of
ice cream, some hollowed by erosion, littered the landscape. As we
passed these granite sundaes, I fantasized a scene from the High Plains
Drifter.
“Hey, Clint.”
“Yeah?”
“Wanna kill ‘em when they come
past the rocks?”
Night dropped to earth like a
widow’s veil. After driving nine
hours, the cattle standing in the road
became frightening aberrations of
floating glowing eyes. I kept eyeing the horizon for light, extra terrestrial and otherwise. I should have
heeded the warning not to drive on
the High Plains at night. Free ranging cattle, no signs of civilization,
the absence of traffic and roadway
lights, the feelings of isolation and
anxiety were overwhelming.
Tourist season had ended in
Guerrero Negro and when I spotted what appeared to be a motel, I
pulled in. The owner was excited
by our appearance; he would make
a few pesos this evening. When I
questioned if there were any whales
left to be spotted in the inlet, he
was empathic I would not be disappointed.
Having paid eighty pesos to ride
ten kilometers across salt flats in a
broken down Jeep, I felt my enthusiasm waning. The whales probably
weren’t too excited about my coming either. North of the border, five
giant hotels, twenty restaurants and
a McDonalds would have circled
this inlet. We retrieved our life jackets from the only building on the
beach, a small wooden shack. As
I stood at the waters’ edge waiting
for the small wooden boats to be
brought to us, our guide instructed
us to take off our shoes, roll up our

pant legs and wade out to them.
Hey, this would never happen at
Disneyland! There must be an art to
whale-watching I wasn’t informed
of. I saw noses, mid sections, tails
and waterspouts. OK, the joke is on
me. This is a multi-sectioned, mechanical mock-up they drag through
the water, right? I guess the French
family, who took rolls of film of
whale body parts, plan to tape them
together before they show their
friends. After sweeping back and
forth across the inlet for two hours,
our guide turned the boat to shore. It
was late March and the whales had
begun their migration north. We
were fortunate to have glimpsed the
procrastinators.
Throughout Mexico, being
pulled over by Federales to inspect
your car for contraband is the norm.
Being confronted by the “Bug
Squad” as I tried to leave Guerrero
Negro was a first. The masked exterminators informed me I had to
pay them ten pesos. What a bargain,
for ten pesos I could have the paint
job on my car destroyed by insecticides. I tried to reassure them that
the only fruit I had in my car was
a single Georgia peach, my friend,
Hank.
Mordida is such a wonderful
Mexican tradition. When I asked if
they would consider not spraying
the car for twenty pesos, they both
smiled and nodded yes. I quickly
handed them the money and pulled
away from the checkpoint.
Crossing the Baja from West to
East, to reach Santa Rosalie, was a
continuation of mountains and high
plains. Tiny coved beaches of white
sand and clear blue water, nestled
below jagged cliffs, were a welcome
addition. Santa Rosalie, once an active copper mining town, sported an
oddity - wooden houses. The Rothschild’s dynasty shipped the ore
to California and Mexican lumber
made the return voyage. While the
shipyard is a graveyard of rusting
cranes and warehouses, the mountain is dotted with wooden houses
sporting crimped tin roofing.
Winding up the mountain on
smoothly paved streets, we discovered the St. Francis Hotel, built in
1886 to house engineers and visiting
businessmen. Constructed totally of
wood, the lattice railings, shuttered
windows and porch rockers welcomed us to another century.
Excited, Hank and I accepted
a room on the second floor for a
better view of the bay and village.
We waited calmly for assistance to
move our luggage upstairs. The Senora queried if there was a problem.
With an engaging smile she advised

us she was the manager, cook, waiter and bartender, but clearly, she did
not do luggage.
On the first landing, I shifted
my grasp on the two suitcases and
leaned against the railing for a brief
rest. Gently, quietly, the railing began to move outward. I dropped
the suitcases and threw myself toward the wall. The railing remained
hanging over the sidewalk. Our
room was papered in padded fabric, the random width wooden floor
rolled up and down. The windows
were nailed shut and the controls
for the air conditioner were wall
decorations; there wasn’t one. The
soothing sounds of the creaking
porch rockers transported us as we
watched the sunset. One forgot the
lack of 21st century amenities. We
were enveloped in the 1900s.
Hank and I had left Rosarito
Beach four days ago and we were
anxious to reach La Paz to catch the
ferry. A pile of rocks on the edge of
the road wasn’t unusual; the Federale that appeared from behind it
was. Once again we were motioned
to pull over and told they wanted to
search the car. My Hanes Her Way
were to be tossed this way and that
one more time. More men had put
their hands on my underwear these
last few days then in all my years
of dating! It wasn’t a conscious
thought, I simply said No; they
could not search the car.
The young soldier stared at me,
stepped back and conferred with his
buddy. He motioned for two other
soldiers to come forward. I was just
too tired to imagine the worst. Politely they asked if I would transport
two of the soldiers to their home
in the next village. It was likely
the topic of conversation for quite
awhile in this remote mountain village. We roared through the streets
toward the plaza with the two young
Federales wedged in the tiny back
seat, radio blaring salsa and a loco
gringa driving.

After two days of haggling with
the Mexican bureaucracy about permits for the car, we finally scheduled the ferry trip from La Paz to
Mazatlan. Once the car was safely
stowed in the bowels of the boat,
we wandered around the shipyard
unclear as to when and where to
board. Intuitively I suggested we
follow the endless stream of Mexican suitcases.
As in Santa Rosalie, we were
once again transported to the 19th
century; perhaps Liverpool or Dublin, hundreds of immigrants boarding a ship to America. Crowing
roosters tied in cardboard boxes,
bags and baskets of bedding and
clothing, tiny children crying in the
arms of their mothers. Tears and
hugs from family members as the
line moved slowly toward the gangplank.
I kept wondering where this
mass of humanity disappeared to as
we were shown to our “Especial”
stateroom on the top deck of the
ship. Having seen Titanic too many
times, I envisioned the elegance
of chandeliers, silver and polished
wood. A worn-out sofa bed completed the living room, the bedroom
consisted of two futons. The bathroom, however, sported a roomy
shower, a vanity for m’lady and toilet paper! The ferry had an outdoor
bar on the upper level, complete
with deafening bandas music.
As we watched the sun go down,
more and more people joined the
festivities. This became the Mexico I know; the families jammed
together in the lower decks joining the fiesta. Babies and bottles of
tequila were passed around, young
lovers crept off to the shadows and
the gnarled hands of not-so young
lovers joined.
Driving the Baja was an experience of a lifetime, memories I shall
always have. Here is a suggestion
for you: Once a year, go someplace
you’ve never been before.

y way of explaining
this layperson’s autopsy of “Gringo Speak”
please allow the following brief
explanation to, hopefully, set up
what put this all in motion.
Like most folks, both my wife
and I extensively use, and are
highly dependent upon, our land
line and cellular telephones and
computers. In that regard, recently, we experienced a problem not
unfamiliar to other ex-pats...communications equipment problems
and all that is entailed in correcting
same in environs slightly different,
shall we say, than Oklahoma City,
Portland or Philadelphia.
So, in response to our dilemma
d’jour, our local electronics professional, David (nearly a family member as much time as he
spends here), responsively raced
up to our rescue. After diagnosing our difficulties, he informed us
that he would have to re-install the
modem.
OK, that seemed to be a logical
prognosis for our computer problem but it set in motion my convoluted way of thinking.
Upon setting up our household
we had “installed” a modem and
now, this one being on the fritz,
we needed to “re-install” another.
We were “repeating” an original
process. That made sense.
But given the complicated
manner in which my mind seems
to work – or others might observe,
“doesn’t work” - that initiated a
somewhat convoluted thought
process.
By definition, “re” means to
“restore to a previous condition.”
Thus by employing that semantic
rationale, if we first “installed,”
then we “re-installed”, did we then
“peat” before we could “repeat”
the process. In fact, in that I am
now “recounting” this incident,
did I previously “count” it?
In thinking this through, if we
wish to not “refuse” something,
choosing to accept it, must we then
“fuse” it? Likewise, is it imperative that we be “tired” before we
can “retire”? Or must we “turn”
before “returning”? “Tort” before
“retorting”? “Tract” before “retracting”? “Vive” before “reviv-

ing”? “Pent” before “repenting”?
The mind boggles.
By further striving to incorporate some sort of consistent rationale in the way we speak and
write, I know that while “renumbering” is merely “numbering”
again, should it not then follow
that we must “spect” someone before we can “respect” them? Yes,
we generally “view” before “reviewing” but for the life of me I
can not recall “verting” anything
before “reverting.”
Bogged in a veritable quagmire
of word confusion I turned to that
which should explain. My faithful, well worn and dog eared dictionary defines “retry” as “To try
again.” Brevity, directness and
simplicity - that’s a good and simple explanation. I like it!
However, is to “duce” a mandatory precursor before “reducing”?
Or must first we “vere” before “revering” or “veal” before “revealing”?
As I “reflect” on this – I can
but only question if I was earlier
“flecting” first on it. And, I worriedly wonder if I am missing
something or am merely linguistically “retarded.” But, then again,
I don’t remember ever first being
previously “tarded!”
I surrender and “spect” we
merely must “respect” this amalgamated language of ours for what
it confusingly is. (But, honestly, I
still have difficulty understanding
the need to “pose” prior to “reposing” in thoughtful contemplation
of how it somehow works.)
Admittedly, it bothers me a bit
to think that while Patty and I now
reside in Mexico full-time we,
apparently, must, then, have previously “sided” in Iraq, Hawaii,
Kwajalein and various points north
of here across the border. That

simply somehow sounds semantically askew of something.
But, then again, critical thinker
that I strive to be, I “reserve” the
right to so wonder and, apparently
have “served” so for some time.
(Which begs, to a degree, the question of how one might “serve” in
the Army “Reserve?”) So, while
some may “resent” my sometimes
ponderous – if not outright strange
- critical dissection of our native
tongue, I can only wonder if, beyond that, they previously may
have simply “sent” (or wished to)
all manner of my convoluted ponderings! If so, dare I deign to ask,
where?
I worry not. I’m “resilient”
and, apparently – though, maybe,
unknowingly, have long prided
myself in my “saliency!”
Those who know me well will
attest, I am not one to become depressed over unrequited appreciation for my “word concerns”. So
if I’ve put anyone out by my word
worries, I hope that we can properly “requite” each other.
Oh dear, now that introduces
two more cans of semantic worms
- those regarding “de” and “un.”...
another day, another day!

a

Saw you in the Ojo 61

A NEW LEASE—on Life!
By Judit Rajhathy, B.A., RNCP, D.Ac.

Sick Because Of My Teeth?

D

id you know that
gum disease is linked
to heart disease and
stroke? Research also suggests that
there may be a link between periodontal (gum) disease and other
health conditions such as chronic
inflammation, diabetes, respiratory
disease, pregnancy problems, premature low birth weight babies and
even osteoporosis.
The American Academy of
Periodontology (AAP) reports that
people with gum disease are almost
twice as likely to have heart disease
compared to those without gum disease.
How does it all work? When
plaque becomes built up around the
teeth, bacteria forms and irritates
the tissues that surround the teeth
which is what is known as gingivitis. However once the bacteria
goes beneath the gum line it eventually attacks the tissues and even the
bone around the teeth which often
leads to tooth loss. According to
the American Dental Association
(ADA) nearly 75% of American
adults have some form of periodontal disease. Eventually this
periodontal bacteria can enter the
bloodstream creating havoc with
the rest of the body.
In the case of the connection between periodontal disease and heart
disease several theories abound.
One is that oral bacteria enters
the bloodstream attaching to fatty
plaques in the blood vessels thereby
contributing to clot formation which
in turn obstructs normal blood flow
restricting nutrients and oxygen re-

quired for the
heart to function adequately. Another theory is
that “the inflammation caused by
periodontal disease increases plaque
build up, which may contribute
to swelling of the arteries” (Perio.
org). In addition, it is well known
that periodontal disease can worsen
existing heart conditions and that
these folks need to take antibiotics
prior to any dental procedures for
safety.
Diabetics are twice as likely to
develop gum disease. Inflammation
affects blood sugar levels by impairing the body’s ability to process
and/or use insulin.
So...if you have gums that bleed
easily; red, swollen tender gums;
gums that are pulling away from
your teeth; bad breath or bad taste in
your mouth; loose teeth; changes in
the way your teeth fit together when
you bite or changes in the fit of partial dentures, it is time to visit the
dentist. “When you have a chronic
infection in your mouth it can put
you at a much higher risk for infections elsewhere in your body,” says
Sally Cram DDS (ADA).
Just like your dentist has been
pleading with you for years, flossing your teeth is one of the most effective ways to prevent periodontal
disease. Studies have shown that
even after just two weeks of regular
flossing can significantly reduce the
amount of periodontal disease causing bacteria - and remember that
this bacteria can wreak havoc with
your entire system. Brushing twice
a day, regular dental cleanings and
checkups are also essential.
Now that you have taken care of
your oral health so that the rest of
you can be disease free, add some
regular exercise to the mix. See you
at the gym!
Judit is the owner of Change of
Pace Fitness Center, central Ajijic.
She can be reached
at 766-5800.

a

62

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

Judit Rajhathy

CHILD

of the month

By Rich Petersen

Irma Janet Rivera Puga

T

his young lady with the
beautiful smile is 13-year
old Irma Janet Rivera
Puga, known at home as “Janet.”
Janet lives with her parents, Irma and
José, in San Antonio Tlayacapan; she
is the youngest of four children all of
whom still live at home.
About three years ago and out-ofthe-blue, Janet awoke one morning
to discover she no longer had any
feeling in or control of her lower extremities. She had been previously
healthy with no signs or symptoms
of anything wrong. Doctors at the
Hospital Civil in Guadalajara were
able to give this “mystery” a name,
however----transverse myelitis. This
is a viral or bacterial infection of the
spinal cord which causes inflammation of the nerves in the spinal column. Inflamed nerves are no longer
capable of sending their “messages”
to the brain, and thus a patient has
limb weakness, back pain, sensory
disturbance, and incontinence.
In Janet’s case the doctors diagnosed a viral infection and as true
with all viruses, there is no medicine or other agent that can cure
the inflammation. Physical therapy
is thought to be the only method of
reversing or ameliorating the virus’s
effect on the spinal cord.
Janet’s father came to Niños Incapacitados after about six months of
taking her to twice weekly therapy
sessions. The therapists and doctors
had recommended more intense therapy with specialists, and in addition
the fitting of a special hip brace and
leg supports so she could gradually
learn to bear weight and hopefully
strengthen her muscles and stimulate
the damaged nerves. Such an appliance would cost 15.000 pesos, much
more than the family could afford.
Sr. Rivera is fortunate to have a
job with SIMAPA (the water company) but notwithstanding, and with
three other children, the cost of ongoing therapy and the brace was
too much. SIMAPA has been good
enough to allow him to take off work
in order to get Janet to her therapy
sessions (although he must make up
the time), and they offered to pay for
half of the brace and leg supports.

Niños IIncapacitados
the
Niñ
it d
hhas paid
id th
other half and continues to pay for
her twice-weekly physical therapy.
Dad and Mom have to do everything for their daughter at this point.
Janet is in school, however, and a
very good student. Her favorite
subject is Science and she is thinking about a career as a veterinarian.
One might think that her demeanor
and outlook would be pessimistic
and negative, but when she and her
family attended our meeting, Janet’s
smile and positive attitude showed
that this was not the case. Janet and
her father demonstrated how she is
learning to stand on her own and bear
some weight on her legs, albeit with
her Dad right behind her and holding
on. She has had the brace and leg
supports for only about a month and
the process will take time to achieve
any amount of rehabilitation. We of
course wish her and the family great
success in the future.
Janet is now 15 years old and has
just graduated from high school with
very good grades and will attend the
“Prepa” in the fall. She continues
with her weekly therapy at the Ajijic Clinic, and while she still cannot
walk on her own, she is showing significant progress.
Niños Incapacitados is “taking
the summer off” in the sense that
there will be no monthly meetings
until September, Thursday the 9th to
be exact. We will of course continue
our support of our children during
the summer months and will bring
you other stories during this hiatus.
Please join us in September at 10:15
at the Hotel Real de Chapala (La Floresta) to learn more about our organization and the children we assist.

a

Saw you in the Ojo 63

By Victoria Schmidt

Maid Self-Defense

T

here is nothing more
individualistic
than
one’s home. Even while
renting a furnished home, the occupants imprint their own environment. I’m a person who prefers angles to straight lines. I like my book
shelves organized with the books
lined up, and stacked one upon
the other, depending on space. The
photographs on our display tables
are angled. Our maid, however,
likes everything lined up.
We’ve had several maids, since
moving to Mexico. While this in
no way makes me an expert on
maids, it does give me insight into
their behavior. I have liked all our
maids, and have trusted them all. I
feel guilty when I pay them what I
consider to be a pittance for their
hard work. Our maid gets paid less
for cleaning our home twice a week
for a month than what we paid our
cleaning lady for a half-day’s work

64

in
n the USA.
USA I appreciate our maids,
maids
and for the most part, they have all
done a good job. Some of them
even clean behind and under the
furniture.
With maids, there were degrees
of them teaching me, and me teaching them. It often doesn’t work well
for either of us. So, like many people here in Mexico, I have learned
what I call, Maid Self-Defense.
I have often had to search
throughout the house after a maid
has cleaned trying to find things. I

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

have learned to never expect that
our maid will put things where
I would put them. My photos
have been rearranged, bedspreads
changed, and I rarely find things
in my kitchen when I need them.
Often after a cleaning, my husband and I will make the rounds
of the house trying to put things
back where they belong. Our current maid is on maternity leave,
so we are breaking in a new maid.
WE put empty hangers back into
the laundry room so they are near
the dryer. SHE puts them back in
the closet. WE keep the dish soap
on the sink. SHE puts it under the
sink. And I’m not even going to try
to describe what she does with the
flatware!
Once we couldn’t find our towels. The towels had been in the
dirty laundry basket when we left,
but the basket was now empty. Our
laundry sorter didn’t contain the
towels. So I looked in the linen
closet, and there they were, folded
neatly. Not washed mind you, but
folded very nicely.
Shoes and slippers are really
fun at our house. For some reason
unknown to me, my husband must
have at least three pairs of shoes

out at all times. Don’t ask. Anyway, when he’s running around
the house looking for his shoes we
know the maid has put them away
again. We’ve found them in the
closet, on chairs, and on shelves.
Perhaps she really hasn’t decided
where she thinks all these shoes
should go.
So before each cleaning day, I
go throughout our home performing Maid Self-Defense. First I put
away all the dishes. Then I tour
through the rooms looking for any
clothes that need to be hung up, put
away, or placed in the laundry; collect stray books and put them away;
pick up business papers, and make
sure they are filed away; hide the
dog toys, (our maid keeps throwing away the dog’s bone;) and
generally “clean” before the maid
comes. Maid Self-Defense has
helped to shorten the time I spend
going around the house putting
my photos back at
angles, reorganizing my books, and
searching for my
husband’s shoes.
Now if I could
only find my raincoat!

(NOTE: If there is any change in the above, please advise us so that corrections may be made. Call: 765-2877)

Saw you in the Ojo 65

The
16 DE SEPTIEMBRE #16-A
AJIJIC, JAL, MX
WWW.LAKECHAPALASOCIETY.ORG

LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY

News

FROM THE DIRECTOR’S DESK
I would like to thank everyone who volunteered for
the July “Bizaar, Bargains & Bar B-Q” on the 2nd and
3rd. Your work helped to raise over $77,000 MXN pesos. I’d also like to thank everyone else who participated
in this fundraiser, the buyers, local authors and cowboy
singer Virgil Stortroen. Despite a wash-out mid-Friday
the event was successful. Over $44,000 pesos will go
directly to LCS and our different programs, including
the library, video, student aid and the Wilkes Education
Center. Fundraising for our programs allows us to divert
general operating funds to other purposes.
The Bazaar will not be an annual event, it was meant
to bring attention to the Casi Nuevo Thrift Shop and the
budding partnership between LCS, the School for the
Deaf in Jocotepec, and Have Hammers…Will Travel.
The partnership is sound and the Thrift Shop has been
very busy as a result. We couldn’t ask for more…except
more volunteers. If you have experience or desire to help,
please introduce yourself at the shop Monday through
Friday between 10:30 A.M. and 3:00 P.M.
Fundraising for the year has just begun. We will be
planning several new events over the remainder of the
year. Our events coordinator, Pat Doran, is overflowing
with great and fun ideas. You’ll be receiving announcements soon. Please participate if you can.
As I stated in the last newsletter, this year we are trying to address the eroding infrastructure of our properties, with septic and roofs being the top priorities. In June
the roof of the Neill James (NJ) Library was repaired.
In July the roof of the Wilkes Education Center was repaired, and now as the rainy season peaks, all is dry. The
NJ House and the office are next in line, as long as funding is available. That’s why your support at LCS events
is critical.
Speaking of funding, LCS is in strong financial condition. Our programs are well supported. Membership
has climbed to 2650 and new members are joining daily.
Check out the new programs featured this month. There
is so much positive energy at LCS this summer. Please
come down and be part of it!
Terry Vidal, Executive Director

66

El Ojo del Lago / August 2010

August 2010
FROM THE PRESIDENT
LCS GOVERNING DOCUMENTS

Some may consider this a controversial subject. Many
will agree that it is time to face this issue again and resolve
it once and for all. Through a series of constitutions, bylaws and amendments thereof, we are currently governed
by four, count them, four active governing documents that
are confusing and often contradictory.
Most of you will remember that last year a very dedicated work group of LCS members drafted a comprehensive new constitution that required a supermajority to pass,
fell short of passage by about 20 votes. The board has
recently formed a committee to review that proposed constitution and consider many of the valid comments made
during last year’s election debate.
The committee will recommend to the board a final
version of this constitution and it will then be presented to
a vote of the members at the Annual General Meeting in
December.
During the coming months we will cover specific articles of the proposed constitution in the monthly newsletter
and attempt to compare them with the current documents.
We will show that the governing of LCS will be more
clearly defined and allow for appropriate growth and adaptation to future needs of our members and the community
in which we live. Your comments, as always, are welcome.
Howard Feldstein

PLEASE NOTE:
**CRIME PREVENTION SEMINARS **
The Crime Prevention seminars for the balance of 2010
are being redesigned. The subject of crime prevention and
related topics will be addressed in other formats in the
near future. We know that for many people these are important topics and we want you to be prepared.

www.lakechapalasociety.org

LCS
News
NEILL JAMES LIBRARY UPDATE
There will be an inventory in the month of September.
Please look around for any LCS books you or your maid
may have stashed in an unusual place. An anmesty will be
announced prior to the inventory as to when you can return
them before we close the doors for a few days while we are
counting.

WILKES LIBRARY UPDATE
Over 125 new books in Spanish have recently been added
to the Wilkes Library. An evaluation is being made as to
the best types of resources to be made available to our local school children and their parents. Meetings with the
Chapala Director of Education, school administrators, and
teachers have been taking place so that the learning resources at Wilkes can be brought up to date. We are also
studying other school and public libraries.
The book lending system is currently being computerized,
books on the shelves are being repaired and labeled, and
new shelves added. We look forward to telling you more
about our exciting progress in future newsletters.

JULY HEALTH WEEK - FOLLOW-UP
Our July 2010 Health Care Week was a great success. The
Skin Cancer Screening Clinic screened 60 people; we gave
50 typhoid inoculations, performed 30 cholesterol screening panels, and did 20 diabetic tests. A number of problem
areas were identified for our members & we encouraged
them to consult their physicians for follow-ups. 52 blood
pressure readings were taken. We had a full house in the
sala for Maryann Molinari’s most interesting lecture on
End of Life Health Care & Mexican Law.
Our next Health Care Week is scheduled for the 2nd full
week in November (8 – 13). We will be offering skin cancer
screening, flu shots (advanced sign up required), a choice
of 2 different cholesterol panels, and an interesting health
related educational topic (to be determined).

The Bizaar may be over

, but the need for
your donations to the Casi Nuevo Thrift Shop is not. Remember there is a drop box at LCS, or take your goodies
straight to the thrift shop, on the carretera across the street
from 7-Eleven in Riberas.

August 2010
VIDEO UPDATE
We are still working on the new “user friendly” video
catalogs and will have them finished soon. Notices will
be posted on the board, with the video jackets, to familiarize the members with the revised format.
CURRENT RELEASES
GREEN ZONE
Discovering covert and faulty intelligence causes a U.S.
Army officer to go rogue as he hunts for Weapons of
Mass Destruction in an unstable region. Matt Damon 7.1 on a scale of 10
A SINGLE MAN
A story that centers’ on an English professor who, after
the sudden death of his partner, tries to go about his typical day in Los Angeles. Colin Firth - 7.7 on a scale of 10
OLDY BUT GOODY
EDUCATING RITA
A young wife decides to complete her education and take
her exams. She meets a professor who teaches her to
value her own insights while still being able to beat the
exams. Michael Caine and Julie Walters - 7.2 on a scale
of 10
ON-GOING NEEDS
Donations and couriers are greatly appreciated. If you
can, please help us and your fellow members by keeping
the Video Library a place of interest. Thank you.
TRANSFER your old VHS to DVD
A service offered in the Video Library
ONLY 50 pesos each!

REMINDER
The U.S. Consulate will not be here in August. Their
next visit will be September 1st.
U.S. Passport fees have increased.
Passport Fees
Passport Book – adult
$135.00
Passport Book – minor
$105.00
Passport Book Renewal – Adult $110.00
Passport Card – Adult
$55.00
Passport Card – Child
$40.00

August 2010
PROFILE OF THE
MONTH
Fred Harland, Vice President, Board of Directors
I thoroughly enjoyed my interview with Fred as I found
him to be very articulate,
pleasant and a good conversationalist who has lived a
full and interesting life. Fred
and his wife, Mardele, have
travelled extensively and
lived for a time in several
different countries while
working for the Canadian
Government’s Canada Union Services Overseas, similar to the
Peace Corps, doing international educational development in Africa and the South Pacific. Fred has spent most of his life in the
educational field as a teacher, facilitator, lecturer, and organizer.
Fortunately for us, he has had many years of experience in the
non-profit field.
Fred and his wife were part-timers at Lakeside for nine years before moving here permanently three years ago. He has been a
very active member at LCS for twelve years, and also in other
areas at Lakeside. Fred was part of a Lakeside group that started
The Lake Chapala Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. He and
Bob Miller co-coordinate the LCS Learning Seminars and he is
part of the Great Books discussion group which he founded ten
years ago.
Fred is a life-long learner of virtually everything and keeps fit by
playing ball and running.
On a more personal level, his son Chris is a lawyer and lives in
India at the present, and his daughter Renata is a neuropsychologist who lives in the States, but has lived and taught in Japan.
They are a very international family. Also, I asked Fred what is
his favorite country, other than Mexico, and it’s Fiji, where they
lived for a while in the 70’s.

ART APPRECIATION LECTURE SERIES
Dimitar Krustev’s Series: “Art thru the Ages”
Includes: Egypt, Greece, Renaissance & Modern Art
To be held on Thursdays 12-2:00 pm in Sala
26 AUGUST - “The Artist & His Travels to Paint & Photograph a Vanishing World”
9 SEPTEMBER - Topic to be announced
7 OCTOBER - Topic to be announced

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MEDICAL EMERGENCY - RED CROSS
The medical-emergency number 065 goes to Guadalajara and is then forwarded to Chapala.
The direct emergency number at the Chapala Red Cross is 765-2308
and will get you more immediate emergency attention.
The 765-2553 is the business office number which is not always open.

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FILM AFICIONADOS
Films and discussion 2nd & 4th Thursday in the Sala at 2 pm
THERE WILL BE ONLY ONE FILM THIS MONTH ON THE BIG SCREEN
26 AUGUST – The film to be shown is yet to be determined. Come and be surprised!
For LCS members to get on the Film Aficionado email list to receive notices and
reviews of upcoming showings you can email me at: mak1939@gmail.com
LAKE CHAPALA SOCIETY
16 de Septiembre #16-A, Ajijic, Jalisco
LCS Main Office: 766-1140
Office, Information and other services open Monday – Friday, 10 to 2 and Saturday 10 to 2. Grounds are open until 5

keyboard. Very good...lightly used with
Windows XP Home Edition upgrade (with
certificate of authenticity). Hard drive
cleaned by professional, guaranteed.
$200 US. Call: Dennis at 766-5322
FOR SALE: Magicjack, call unlimited
to the United States and Canada. Price
$60.00 includes one full year of service,
renewal for the next year is only $19.95
for as long as you own the magicjack.
Call: (376)765-2326
BEST OFFER FOR: External Floppy
Drive. See: http://go.iomega.com/enus/products/removable-storage/floppydrives/?partner=4760 Includes an unopened 10-pack of IBM formatted 2HD
Floppy Disks (3.5”). Contact: Donald
Williams
FOR SALE: Older computer, works
good. Comes with Windows XP PRO,
Microsoft Office,CD Player & CD burner. Has 13” Monitor, Keyboard and two
speakers, mouse and other extras. $250
USD. 765-5773
FOR SALE: Cd Burner, good working order, with spare recordable cd’s and
manual, $49USD. Call 765-3824
FOR SALE: Well constructed laptop
travel bag. Has wheels and an extension
handle for pulling. Excellent condition.
Large enough for a full size laptop. Price
$250 pesos. Contact: Wayne Gardi

PETS & SUPPLIES (3)
FOR SALE: good saddle horse. Fine
gelding, has brio, been to high school
and can dance, good trail horse - proud
cut. Beautiful, intelligent, to good home.
$20,000 pesos. Contact: Kerrie Stepnick
FOR SALE: Training your puppy
or dog? I have two books that might
help: PUPPY TRAINING, by Charlotte
Schwartz; and NEW COMPLETE DOG
TRAINING MANUAL, by Bruce Fogle.
$100 Pesos for both. Call: James Tipton,
765-7689.
POSITION DESIRED: Beautiful,
loyal and lovable little girl needs new
home- have too many, no time. She is
purebred, healthy, very athletic; can do
incredible twisting leaps to catch a ball,
amazing 99% accuracy. Contact: Sherry
Hudson

FOR SALE: Canon MP20DH111
with 2 color illuminated display. Used 1
time. All instructions and the machine is
packed in the box it came in. $500 pesos. Contact: Ann Heath
WANTED: I would like to beg, borrow, or rent a turntable that will play
45 rpm records. It must have audio out
jack(s) (RCA style). I want to transfer a
few of my old 45s to a CD. Call David at
(376)763-5248
FOR SALE: Brand Arbruder, 7mp 14mpmax, 6.6L/ min., 2900PSI, asking
$900 pesos. Contact: Diane Ward
FOR SALE: Yamaha piano- organ,
model ypr-50 in excellent condition, with
manual and adjustable chair. $275 USD.
Call: 765-3824
FOR SALE: Sony camcorder, good
working condition, with carrying case
and manual. $75 USD Call: John Whiley
at 765-3824
FOR SALE: Want to lose weight? I
have for sale (very slightly used) a hardcover edition of Fred Pescatore, M.D.,
THE HAMPTONS DIET. $100 Pesos.
Call: James Tipton, 765-7689.
FOR SALE: Surpassing The Love
Of Men: Romantic Friendship And Love
Between Women; Sex In History; The
Art Of Sexual Ecstasy/The Art Of Sexual
Magic; and Best Women’s Erotica 2010.
All for only $250 pesos. Call: James Tipton 765-7689.
FOR SALE: Attention Cormac McCarthy Fans: I have, for sale, in fine
condition, the three novels in his Border
Trilogy for only $350 Pesos. Almost impossible to find here locally. Call: James
Tipton at 765-7689.
FOR SALE: Complete set of seven
videos (VHS), these are the “Total Body
Sculpting”, “Winsor Pilates” and the
“Sculpt Your Body Slim” series. Price
$600 Pesos. Call: James Tipton at 7657689.
FOR SALE: New Alto Saxophone
(Cecilia), never used. Bought in the
States a year ago for $4000 pesos. Will
sacrifice for $3000 pesos. Call: James
Tipton at 765-7689.
FOR SALE: Iron Window and Protection, approx. 73” wide by 39” height
4-panel window, with the middle two
panels that open with screening, and
attached wrought iron protection with
scrollwork detail. $1500 pesos. Call Janet at 766-0777.
WANTED: Looking for a TV/VCR
combo. Reasonable price. Bigger screen
is better, but will take anything available.
Must be in good working condition. Call
Jill Flyer at 766-3025.
FOR SALE: Double espresso and
steam outputs comes complete with
manuals and electric coffee grinder, restaurant quality, $2,500 USD. Call: Heinz
Stapff at 765-3587

can stamps, both new and used, for
sale. (Also lots of Peru and Chile). Call:
James Tipton at 765-7689.
FOR SALE: Cormac McCarthy,
three novels in his Border Trilogy, as
well as Blood Meridian, AND, with a two
cassette cd of Brad Pitt reading Cities of
the Plain. Price $350 Pesos. Call: James

Tipton at 765-7689.
FOR SALE: Original bold signature
of Andrew Jackson on Land Grant, probably 1829, co-signed by George Graham, Commissioner of the General Land
Office. Price $4000US. Call: James Tipton at 765-7689

COLLECTABLES (3)
FOR SALE: I have hundreds of duplicates of 19th and 20th century Mexi-